8 Things That Would Happen If You Never Saw the Sun

Written by dushyant  • 

The sun is such an incredibly important part of human life (and all life, in general) that it would be very difficult to contain the true expanse of it within one article.

Sunlight is what makes the process of photosynthesis happen in plants and has several benefits for humans as well, primarily the production of vitamin D in the skin.

But what would happen if you never saw the sun, never experienced sunlight or just never exposed yourself to the fiery gaseous ball of energy that is responsible for making all life happen?

Let’s find out, with this list of eight things what would happen if you never saw the sun!

1. Increased Risk Of Heart Disease

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Exposure to sunlight allows the skin to produce vitamin D in adequate amounts that the body needs to function. A deficiency in vitamin D can lead to rickets in children and has also been shown in studies to be correlated with the instances of cardiovascular disease in adults (1).

It is, therefore, important for the human body to get adequate exposure to sunlight, in order to help prevent such issues from happening.

2. Implications For Fertility

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Another implication of a vitamin D deficiency can be its effects on human fertility. Exposure to sunlight and the resultant production of vitamin D by the skin can greatly help in the fertility of both men and women, as shown in studies (2).

Contrastingly, studies have also shown that women deficient in vitamin D can experience up to a 75% drop in fertility (3).

3. Inflammations And Pain

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Exposure to sunlight can help reduce muscle and bone pain. In countries and areas where people don’t get sunlight as often as their tropical counterparts, the instances of such issues are much more prevalent.

However, case studies have shown that adequate exposure to sunlight has been successful in helping and even ‘completely resolving’ such issues (4). Vitamin D helps lower inflammation, which is why exposure to sunlight can help greatly for people suffering from any muscular or bone pain (5).

4. Depression

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Depression is a disease that unfortunately a lot of people tend to experience. The incidence of depression can be attributed to a wide variety of factors, but certain hormones can help alleviate the symptoms.

The production of serotonin, which is said to be one of the ‘happy hormones’ in the human body, is directly related to our exposure to sunlight (6). Increased serotonin production in the body can greatly help in the treatment of depression.

A lack of vitamin D in individuals (caused by a lack of exposure to sunlight) has also been associated with depression (7). Adequate exposure to sunlight can thus greatly help in such cases.

5. Seasonal Affective Disorder

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The ‘seasonal affective disorder,’ also known as ‘winter depression’ is a form of depression associated with seasonal changes and can occur in individuals during winter or autumn, when there’s a reduction in natural sunlight.

Studies have stated that exposure to sunlight can help reduce the instances of seasonal affective disorder (8). Common remedies for SAD include exposure to artificial sources of bright light; however, if there’s sunlight available, there’s no substitute that can match up to it!

6. Effects On The Immune System

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The human body needs a robust immune system to fend off diseases and to take care of itself, and this is where sunlight plays an important role. Due to the role that sunlight has in the production of vitamin D in the human body, insufficient exposure to it can cause the immune system to flounder as well.

Vitamin D plays an important role in ensuring that the immune system functions properly. The vitamin helps with the body’s antimicrobial response as well, thereby keeping diseases away (9). A deficiency in vitamin D has also been linked to instances of autoimmune diseases (10).

7. Dental Issues

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Exposure to sunlight helps the skin generate copious amounts of vitamin D, which then goes on to help all aspects of the functioning of the body. One such aspect that vitamin D helps greatly in is dental health.

Studies have shown that vitamin D can help with the reduction/prevention of cavities and tooth decay (11). The antimicrobial support that vitamin D provides also factors in when it comes to oral health.

8. Bone Diseases

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Rickets is a disease that occurs, most commonly in children, which results in soft and weak bones that are prone to damage.

The most common cause behind the incidence of rickets is said to be a lack of exposure to sunlight and the vitamin D deficiency that results from it (12). Sunlight can not only help prevent rickets but also aids in the prevention of ‘osteomalacia’ disease (13).

Exposure to sunlight is also said to prevent and help in the treatment of the bone disease known as osteoporosis (14).

So, if you are someone who doesn’t go out much, doesn’t do much physical activity in the sun, or just doesn’t get enough exposure to sunlight in general, you might want to change things up a little.

Getting enough sunlight during the day is important for all the above reasons and then some! Prevention of diseases, treating depression, improving overall health, and being more fertile – do you need any more convincing?

So, get out there and spend some time in the sun; your body will thank you for it!

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