Heliotherapy or how to heal yourself with small doses of sun

Surely we have ever experienced the pleasant sensation of sunbathe, and we have expressed it by saying that it is nice to feel it. Whenever you go to take a sunbath My advice is to enjoy it, and of course, don’t spend another second if the feeling becomes uncomfortable.

From May, most of the time it is very nice enjoy the sun while being in the shade. This seems contradictory, but in reality we continue to take light baths and reflected solar radiation, which is also important for health. Before, in the autumn and winter months, we can do it directly in the sun with more peace of mind.

Respecting our sensations and enjoying doing it is above any other advice or method of how to take it. The first guideline is, then, that the sun must be nice; therefore, if direct sun is not enjoyed, it is best to stay in the shade.

Why take sunbaths

notice the pleasant sensation of heat that invades the body makes us think about many of the whys that science still asks about, about the amount of energy that the sun can transmit to our body and about the fact that today there are certain people who, it is claimed, are capable of of live from this energy of light barely eating, as PA Straubinger collects in his film live off the light.

Our body is designed for daily contact with natural elements: the sun, the air, the earth and the water. But many people limit this contact. Although we connect with air and water, contact with the earth and the sun is not so frequent.

To feel the importance of the sun in our life, it is enough to watch the sunrise for a few days. We will see how suddenly the deep blue of the night gives way to a wide range of colours: the entire visible spectrum will exert an action on us – it is a natural chromotherapy– and we capture it through the eye and the skin.

Plants take up carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, and our brain cells pick up on this change, triggering chain reactions of neurotransmitter release. This practice of see the sunlight and breathe at dawn is used for treat depressions.

How does the sun act on the organism?

The sun emits different types of radiation and each one has peculiar effects on the body.

1. Infrared radiation

Infrared radiation transmits heat and is responsible for skin redness when sunbathing, mainly due to the dilation of the blood vessels.

In infrared radiation, two large groups are established:

Radiations located between 760 and 1,500 nm (nanometers) of wavelength. They penetrate the tissues but are poorly absorbed.Radiations of more than 1,500 nmabsorbed by epidermal and dermal cells.

The way to know that this heat is beneficial is to feel it pleasant.

2. Ultraviolet radiation

ultraviolet radiation, less than 400 nm wavelengthis of higher frequency and energy than the infrared and the most important biological modifications produced by solar radiation are due to it.

type ultraviolet raysA (GRAPE). Are capable of activating melanocytes that pigment the skin.Type B ultraviolet rays (UVB). They transmit more energy and can cause burns, although they are the responsible for the synthesis of vitamin Dnecessary for calcium and phosphorus to be fixed in the bones.

General effects at local and general level

Under the action of the sun they produce numerous local and general effects. Among the local effects of sun exposure are:

1. Stimulates peripheral circulation

Usually there is a improved circulation. But if we exceed it, solar erythema occurs, which occurs quickly or, sometimes, within a few hours, and which reaches its maximum intensity between twelve and twenty-four hours. The triggered process is no more than a slight inflammation with no more consequence than flaking and itching.

In some cases, the evolution is less favorable and the erythema is followed by the appearance of blisters, vesicles or burns. The most serious burns occur between noon and two in the afternoon.

2. Increase the local temperature

It is determined by radiation above 760 nm.

3. Increases sweating

Characteristic of prolonged exposure, it is due to the direct stimulation or to the histamine releasewhich causes the secretion of sweat glands.

4. Skin pigmentation

Its intensity gradually increases until a maximum of forty days after the initiation of solar radiation, intervening the endocrine system, especially the pituitary, thyroid and adrenal glands. This time is for adaptation to progressive sunbathing.

Therapeutically, pigmentation is a phenomenon of regulation of light action, by constituting a barrier to solar action. Melanin can absorb radiation of less than 300 nm, which gives it a filter function for dermoepidermal protection.

However, certain authors (Rollier and Rosselo) give it a transforming function: it would be capable of converting light and ultraviolet rays into others of greater activity and cell modifiers, thus obtaining a protein-therapeutic effect that would increase vitality and organic resistance. This line of research gives it a action on the immune system.

Therapeutic effects of the sun

When assessing its therapeutic effects, it must be taken into account that the solar radiation It acts in our body in several ways:

indirectly (the most influential). It is what the sun produces by modifying our environment through atmospheric ionization, the electric and magnetic fields of the Earth and the effect of electromagnetic waves. Variations in solar activity also influence the organism inducing changes in blood coagulation and cholesterol.In a direct way (immediate). It is what the sun produces on the retina and skin.

The sun exerts numerous positive effects on the bodyas:

Activation of metabolic functions. Increased cellular anabolism of calcium and phosphoremia, facilitating the assimilation of calcium through vitamin D.Stimulation of the endocrine glands. In particular, on the thyroid and sexual glands.Muscle stimulationeven without exercising.

Safe sunbathing

Most people have the ability to adapt to the sun, which can be taken gradually in moderate doses, without using creams. There are certain considerations to take into account to gain security:

The environment makes a difference. He mountain sun it is characterized by its richness in direct and ultraviolet radiation; in it beach sun reflected and diffuse radiations predominate, both rich in ultraviolet and poor in infrared.The season of the year also affects. It is wrong to assume that heliotherapy is exclusive to summer, since it is possible practice it at any time of the year. It is even more effective in winter as the organism is more receptive and the atmosphere is richer in diffuse radiation.The sun’s rays must be received directly. should be taken direct sun, without going through glass or other means that can absorb part of the radiation. it will be better on the naked bodywith a hat to protect the head and smoked glasses, preferably approved, to preserve sight.The duration of the exhibition varies throughout the year.. As a rule, the sun should be sunbathed one hour in spring, half an hour in summer and an hour and a half in autumn and winter. It is necessary to start with small periodic doses, without exceeding the subjective well-being of the person. There must not be an excessive sensation of heat and the skin must remain dry and without protective creams.No protective sun creams. There are solar reactions or allergies that are really allergies to sun creams. Although the use of sunscreen creams protects from the effect of erythema or burnit does not preserve the triggering effect of melanoma, and even when protecting from the burn, it leaves the body’s first warning option to complain unanswered, because it has already sunbathed too much, which creates confusion.The application must be progressive. The sessions must be longer each day so that the body gets used to it, according to the individual response. In case of application on small areas, the measures are simple: it is enough to uncover the corresponding area and expose it to the sun, for increasing times, usually five minutes per day. If the treatment is general, greater precaution must be taken, being convenient start covered in light clothingto continue later on bare areas that starting from the feet will expand until they reach the entire body.

the sun is a good friend and gives us light, heat and life. We can all benefit from your positive action by quietly enjoying your company. without protection and in small doses.

direct visual heliotherapy

Direct visual heliotherapy a technique appreciated by the naturopathic medicine by its non-specific general action, capable of regulate body rhythms and increase vitality, serenity and the ability to concentrate. It can be practiced at dawn or in the early hours of the morning.

Consists in:

Sit comfortably in the sunclose your eyes and feel its presence on the eyelids. Begin by 5 minute sessions.Every two days 5 minutes are increased, up to 20 minutes at most.

The origin of heliotherapy

The therapeutic capacity of the sun has been known for centuries and is present in the medical cultures that we know. The Greek civilization structured heliotherapy and gymnastics (gymnastics: “naked”), practicing heliosis on the seashore or the heliasterium on the terrace of the houses, and the naked movement in the stadiums.

For many, naturopath Arnold Rikli (1823-1906) is the father of modern heliotherapy. Author of the book Natural medicine and sun bathsfounded in 1855 a clinic in Wolfsberg in Carinthia (Austria) where patients from all over were treated.

The method was based on the theory that “There is no life without air, nor health without sun”. Its difference with the fact of sunbathing alone lies in three points:

Systematic practice With the naked body For therapeutic purposes

The sick in Wolfsberg they got up at dawn and they exercised outdoors. After this air bath, they sunbathed face down for between 20 and 60 minutes. They were then given gradually cooler temperature baths, Kneipp showers, and massage.

At the beginning of the 20th century, auguste rollier, Swiss doctor (1874-1954), installed in Leysin the first clinic dedicated exclusively to the solar cure of surgical tuberculosis.

When the patient arrived, the first thing that was done was to accustom him to live constantly outdoors (from 3 to 10 days). Once this objective was achieved, he was accustomed tothe sun bath, until the skin was chocolate brown. That was when the real thing started. treatment…