Exposure to sunlight for controlling blood pressure

Heard the popular Beatles song “here comes the sun”? Well I am sure the famous boy band from England didn’t know that exposure of skin to sunlight can help reduce blood pressure! This study was made public through journal of investigative dermatology. According to the research done at the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh, sunlight has the ability to regulate levels of small messenger molecule, nitric oxide (NO) in the skin reducing blood pressure.

"NO along with its breakdown products, known to be abundant in skin, is involved in the regulation of blood pressure. When exposed to sunlight, small amounts of NO are transferred from the skin to the circulation, lowering blood vessel tone; as blood pressure drops, so does the risk of heart attack and stroke." Declared Martin Feelisch, Professor of Experimental Medicine and Integrative Biology at the University of Southampton. It’s well known that overexposure to sunlight might lead to skin cancer (melanoma) but minimizing it absolutely might leave a person prone to prevalent conditions related to cardiovascular disease. This was postulated by Dr. Richard Weller of the University of Edinburgh.  Cardiovascular diseases often associated with high blood pressure play a significantly morbid role in overall mortality rate of the world accounting to 30% globally. Blood pressure and cardiovascular disease are known to vary according to geographic locations with season and latitude exerting a huge influence.

To gauge the positive impact of sunlight on skin an experiment was carried out. 24 healthy individuals were exposed to ultraviolet (UAV) light emitting from lamps for two session of 20 minutes each. In first session the individuals were exposed to heat generated from the lamps and UAV rays and during the second only the heat by blocking UAV rays. The results showed that UAV rays dilates blood vessels, significantly lowers blood pressure without altering vitamin D levels.

"These results are significant to the ongoing debate about potential health benefits of sunlight and the role of Vitamin D in this process. It may be an opportune time to reassess the risks and benefits of sunlight for human health and to take a fresh look at current public health advice. Avoiding excess sunlight exposure is critical to prevent skin cancer, but not being exposed to it at all, out of fear or as a result of a certain lifestyle, could increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Perhaps with the exception of bone health, the effects of oral vitamin D supplementation have been disappointing. We believe that NO from the skin is an important, so far overlooked contributor to cardiovascular health. In future studies we intend to test whether the effects hold true in a more chronic setting and identify new nutritional strategies targeted at maximizing the skin's ability to store NO and deliver it to the circulation more efficiently." Stated Professor Feelisch.