It’s been a long, gloomy haul but spring has sprung and, for many of us, the brighter outlook is having a positive impact on our mood and energy levels. And things are only going to get better.
“Now is the time we see the most rapid change in daylight hours,” says Ann Webb, professor of atmospheric radiation at the University of Manchester. “In April our daylight hours are increasing by about 3-4 minutes a day and that is a significant amount of nearly half an hour per week.”
Predictably, with an average of 155 hours of sunshine for the UK in April compared with a miserable 40-43 hours for December, it’s a time of year when many of us catapult ourselves back into activity. A review of 26 papers involving 9,300 participants from 18 countries, including the UK, found that the average daily steps covered in spring is about 7,805, over 700 more than in midwinter.
But as the sun’s strength increases, how do we maximise the health benefits it can bring while minimising the risks of overexposure? We ask experts the best way to get the most out of the brighter days.
Get outside first thing to reset your body clock
Experts suggest that getting 10-15 minutes of daylight each morning can help to keep your clock on track, but as little as five minutes will help. Bright morning light helps us to regulate our circadian rhythms, inhibiting melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy, and increasing production of hormones such as cortisol, which wakes us up.
“Our bodies have evolved to be expecting a bright light cue first thing in the morning so it is great to get outside,” says Dr Jeffrey Kelu, a research associate in the circadian clock at King’s College London. “If you can get into the habit of doing it at the same time every day as soon after you wake up as possible, it will have a powerful impact in your circadian rhythm, energy levels and sleep patterns.”
Getting out early boosts energyGetty IMAGES
Even an overcast spring day will boost your mood
According to a survey at the University of Manchester, clear blue skies increase people’s happiness rating by 26 per cent compared with cloudy days. But even on overcast ones, the intensity of daylight at this time of year is far greater than that of your artificially lit home or office. Outdoors, the light is likely to be anywhere between 10,000 and 100,000 lux on a bright day; inside the range is 100-500 lux. “Natural daylight is so good for our mood,” Webb says. “It boosts our circadian rhythm and our serotonin levels and just makes us feel more alert.”
Spring daylight can help to keep your blood sugar stable
It’s not just your mood and energy levels that benefit from more natural daylight. Kelu says that “many metabolic processes are affected by daylight exposure”. In a recent study a large team of European scientists warned that a chronic lack of daylight “is increasingly a risk factor for metabolic diseases”. For 4.5 days, they asked 13 people with type 2 diabetes to work either under artificial lighting or to sit near a window where natural daylight lit their desk as they worked.
Using continuous glucose monitors to track their blood sugar, the researchers discovered that those working under artificial lighting spent less time in a healthy blood sugar range than those who were exposed to natural daylight.
“Our findings suggest that natural daylight exposure has a positive metabolic impact on individuals with type 2 diabetes and could support the treatment of metabolic diseases,” they said.
Vitamin D: get it while it’s hot
The best source of vitamin D, important for healthy bones and immunity, is sunlight. When your skin is exposed to the sun’s UVB rays they interact with a skin protein called 7-DHC, converting it into vitamin D3, the active form of vitamin D.
Between October and March, when days are dark and sunlight scarce, it is recommended that everyone in the UK takes a 10mcg supplement of vitamin D to offset losses.
The Royal Osteoporosis Society says springtime until the end of September is the “golden window” for vitamin D production and Webb adds that April is the month when most of us can ditch the pills because we start making vitamin D ourselves as long as we get outside.
“It is the UV that we need to make vitamin D through the skin,” Webb says. The amount of time you need in the sun to make enough vitamin D varies from person to person, but the NHS says a short daily period of 10-15 minutes’ sun exposure between 11am-3pm without sunscreen from now until the end of September will usually do the job.
You don’t need to wear SPF all the time…
Wearing sunscreen every day is unnecessary, says Brian Diffey, a professor of photobiology and spokesman for the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD). “You really don’t need an SPF 50 in the winter months,” Diffey says. “From now until October we do need to apply SPF outdoors, even if cloudy, but we need a balanced approach — and if you are stuck indoors for most of the day you don’t need to worry.”
Official guidance is to protect the skin during peak UV hours, typically between late morning and mid-afternoon, when ultraviolet radiation is strongest and the risk of damage is highest.
Dr Zainab Laftah, consultant dermatologist at HCA at the Shard, London, says it’s a balancing act. “In the UK, dermatology organisations recommend using sunscreen when the UV index reaches 3 or above for all skin types, with additional protection for higher-risk individuals, rather than relying solely on skin tone.”
While those with darker skin tones have some natural protection due to higher melanin levels, there is still a risk of sunburn and UV damage.
Do invest in a product that feels nice on your skin
More important than the SPF of a product is how well it is formulated and how easily it is absorbed into your skin. Most people apply too little SPF to reap the full protective benefits.
“An SPF 30 cream that is pleasurable to apply is probably a better buy than an SPF 50, which isn’t absorbed and leaves a white layer on the surface of the skin,” Diffey says. “It’s better to apply a thick and liberal layer of an SPF 30 than a skimpy layer of an SPF 50 for skin protection.”
Avoiding all sun exposure could backfire
Yes, too many UV rays from overexposure to the sun cause skin cancer and raise the risk of harmful eye conditions such as macular degeneration, but too much shade can also be problematic. In 2023 the Australian Skin and Skin Cancer Research Centre, a working group of leading experts and bodies, issued a position statement that cited extensive scientific evidence that concluded: “Completely avoiding sun exposure is not optimal for health.”
Richard Weller, professor in the centre for inflammation research at the University of Edinburgh, has done extensive research into the effects of UV light on health and suggests that some sunlight is better for us than we realise. In a paper entitled Sunlight: Time for a rethink? Weller reported that studies from the UK and Sweden link sun exposure with reduced cardiovascular and cancer deaths. “Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a skin carcinogen, yet no studies link sun exposure to increased all-cause mortality,” he wrote. “Sunlight has important systemic health benefit as well as risks.”
Moderate exposure UV rays is good for us
We have all become terrified of UV radiation and the effects overexposure to it can have on our risk for skin cancer. But even the UK government says “some UV exposure is healthy”. Moderate amounts of UV are important not just to help our bodies make vitamin D, but possibly to offer some protection against heart disease. Laboratory studies from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and others have shown that some UV exposure from sunlight activates nitric oxide, a molecule in the skin known to reduce blood pressure. And healthy blood pressure is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.