It is common knowledge that exposure to sunlight helps the skin synthesise vitamin D. But at the same time prolonged exposure can also lead to skin cancer. The degree to which people expose themselves to the sun varies from region to region and culture to culture. For example, in India, people generally avoid sunlight to prevent darkening of skin but people in countries like the US do just the opposite—they spend hours basking in the sun. So, while it is debatable whether we should spend time in the sun at all or how much exposure is safe, a new study shows that sunlight can actually be addictive. In that case neither the fear of skin cancer nor dark complexion has the power to keep people away from the sun, it would seem. The study reveals that chronic exposure—as little as six weeks, five days a week—to the sun causes the release of feel-good hormones or endorphins that compel people to have an instinctive desire to laze around in the sun. “It’s surprising that we’re genetically programmed to become addicted to something as dangerous as UV radiation, which is probably the most common carcinogen in the world,” says David Fisher of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School who led the study. “We suspect that the explanation involves UV’s contribution to vitamin D synthesis in the skin,” he added.

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