A history lesson from SunHugg

In the late 19th century, there was a Danish scientist named Niels Finsen who had a hunch that sunlight bolstered the body’s immune system. The poor guy grew up in the Faroe Islands with the long winters of the far north. Troubled with disease himself, he experimented with sunlight, and realized sunshine likely could be a treatment for tuberculosis of the skin as well as open wounds. Finsen won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1903. Partially due to Finsen’s work, a Swiss physician, Auguste Rollier, who was frustrated with “cures” for tuberculosis of the skin and joints (amputation – not really a cure!), opened a solar therapy clinic in the Swiss Alps – a place of higher elevation, lower latitude, and less cloud cover than Finsen experienced in Denmark.  He began with just twenty minutes of morning sunlight on the patients’ affected areas. The result? Skin sores healed on many of his patients. Rollier came to believe that sunlight could be used as a preventive, and this was supported by a new technology at the time, X-rays. It was established that light treatment bolstered the body’s immune system just as Finsen derived. So, used “as a public health tool against disease and decline, sunlight therapy offered something that was inexpensive, easy to practice, and provided benefits” for people of all ages.

You might be wondering how a SunHugg can help you when you can simply go outside to activate your cells into making Vitamin D and boosting serotonin. Getting an appropriate amount of sun is making a commitment to your health – like joining a gym. But you don’t have to get in your car, go someplace, and interact with other people. You don’t have to have a special outfit or equipment other than simply the SunHugg. Let’s say you wake up someday with a purpose to do something for your body and health but you hesitate to make a commitment, even to yourself. Try this on: You come downstairs, reach behind the couch for your SunHugg, pop it open and put it on your deck. You step in, recline, relax, and soak up  some health for a safe amount of time. You have succeeded in resetting your circadian rhythm and activating your body’s system of neurotransmitters and hormones – within the time it takes you to drink your iced coffee. You’re not there to harm your skin, burn your hide, or compete for the darkest tan. Then you step out, twist-closed your SunHugg, and put it back behind the couch; you’re healthier already. Are we promoting harmful UV rays? No, SunHugg encourages safe sun in a protected area for a limited amount of time. Go get healthier.

What happened to fresh air, sunshine, and clean food? Nothing! They are still plentiful in most locales. We’re conscious of food additives, pesticides; we have air purifiers and fill our spaces with pleasant scents, and we spend money on supplements to make up for what we’re lacking – not due to availability but due to our habits. Your friend is a picture of health; he hikes every weekend. You assume all of his benefits stem from exercise, getting his heart rate up. While exercise is great for the mind and the body, consider too, the mind and body benefits from the safe way he soaks up sunshine. Yes, it’s good to SPF and protect yourself from an abundance of UV rays, but the sun is not your enemy. It’s naturally beneficial when cautiously measured. Do not allow yourself to get burned, be careful to follow advice from your health professionals, and use your SunHugg to embrace the benefits offered by sunshine. (I believe I saw a SunHugg on the top of Mount Monadnock one cold, windy spring morning. No matter the brisk wind, it was a toasty 77 degrees inside…talk about feeling smug, and snug!)