Our skin has a relationship with the sun (and its UV rays) that is sometimes happy, sometimes dangerous, always complex and never harmless. Jean-François Doré, a researcher at Inserm, gave an overview of scientific knowledge on this subject at the 5th meeting of the French Antioxidant Society, which was held on 15 November in Paris. A presentation in a land of contrasts…
An emeritus Director of Research in Inserm, in the Lyon Cancer Research Center, Jean-François Doré has, for a long time, studied the effects of sun on our skins, from the answer of the human melanocytes to UV radiation to how using sunscreens may impact our ways of exposure to sun.
Just for once, he said, he began his conference by detailing the benefits we get from sun… which did not prevent him to point out all of its less positive effects.
When the sun is friendly
A fact is unquestionable: the sun is essential for life on the Earth.
Being exposed to sunrays is highly beneficial to the human health.
Good for our morale
Sun has a direct effect on our mood. Not only, because we think, a sunny weather is more agreeable than a rainy greyness, but also because an exposure to UV radiation modifies our physiology, by releasing endorphins.
Endorphins have been discovered in the seventies. Their name comes from “endogenous”, meaning something that is in our body, and “morphine”. These “natural morphines” are, indeed, neurotransmitters released by our brain in psychological or physical stresses situations (efforts, or high-intensity emotions). They link to the brain opiate receptors, and …
