Is the 'sunshine cure' a real thing? - CrowdScience, BBC World Service podcast
CrowdScience investigates the conflicting scientific evidence around warm weather and wellbeing.
Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 bbc.in/3VyyriM
Imagine spending six months of every year living in total shade. That’s what life is like for residents of the Norwegian town of Rjukan, set so low in a valley that they see no direct sunshine at all from October to March. Marnie Chesterton heads there to hear about an ingenious solution: giant mirrors that beam rays down into the town square, where locals gather to feel the reflected heat.
The man behind the project was motivated by a need for winter sun, but how much difference does it really make to our health and happiness? That’s the question posed by this week’s CrowdScience listener Michael, who has noticed living in the rainy Australian city of Melbourne is taking its toll.
Many pensioners claim sunshine relieves aches and pains, as well as conditions like arthritis, but one of the biggest scientific studies found temperature actually has no impact on reported pain levels, while factors like air pressure and humidity may play a role.
When it comes to our mood, it seems that spending time outside is more important than feeling the heat, and the optimum temperature for wellbeing is around cool 19 degrees centigrade, while excessive warm weather has been linked to an increase in violence and crime.
Check out more episodes of CrowdScience here: • CrowdScience
Contributors:
Dr Anna Beukenhorst, University of Manchester
Professor Oscar Ybarra, University of Illinois
Professor Solomon Hsiang, University of California, Berkeley
Martin Andersen, artist
----------------
This is the official BBC World Service KZhead channel.
If you like what we do, you can also find us here:
Instagram 👉🏽 / bbcworldser. .
Twitter 👉🏽 / bbcworldservice
Facebook 👉🏽 / bbcworldservice
BBC World Service website 👉🏽 www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio
Thanks for watching and subscribing!
#CrowdScience #Weather #Health #Wellbeing #Sunshine
Even if I don't go outside just seeing the sunshine through the window makes me personally much more cheerful.
yep, couldn't have agreed more 👍
Me too
I still recall visiting relatives in Andalucia from the December UK. Once out in the sunshine I realised that my mouth was turning up into a smile automatically. It was a strange sensation. I had not even realised I had had a miserable face on me.
British dont smile much probably weather is the reason
It absolutely is., their is no doubt the sunshine is a cure. However their is a cost.. I believe it’s a brain tranquilizer. I think colder areas are better for brain stimulus. So a happy life, find the sun, a life of achievement. Find a four season climate.
What absolute horse shit.
The sunshine is better if the weather is dry but it will give hell like feelings when the weather is humid.
For us in a tropical country philippines where sunlight is abundant it's refreshing for us when it's cloudy 😅
I once spent over a year in the high desert. Rain and cloudy days was about one week total in a year. A cloudy day was a pleasant surprise. When it rained everybody came outside and danced in the rain. I learned that I liked seasons.
😊
ElwOwl
ZenWww
L 1:17 1:17 k😊looking😊
People who live in deserts generally enjoy rain. There's this recurring phrase in the Koran: ". . . . with green meadows and fresh running streams . . . ."
I live in India. North India. There is no dearth of sunshine throughout the year. The Sun beats down relentlessly on you and saps your energy levels and consequently your mood. I am constantly looking towards the skies for a glimpse of a cloud or shade to improve the feel factor. There is such a thing as too much Sun. That said, every morning when i get up and see the sun rise, its a spiritually uplifting moment. Perhaps it helps in improving overall health but definitely does lift the mood in the morning.
Yes morning sun it is not the day sun arghh morning and evening. We even have a name for those times of the day sattvic hours of the day peaceful and beautiful. I take walks in the morning and evening in nature its amazing
The sun is everything especially if you've been raised in a country with abundant sunshine. Ever since I've moved to the UK, I've suffered with depression, anxiety, autoimmune issues, skin issues, poor gut health, low testosterone most of which stem from lack of sunshine. When I go on a holiday to a sunny country, these issues just magically go away. I hope to move to a sunnier country but where and how LOL.
You're very correct and you said it all about lack of sunshine benefits.
Maybe it is also your work that affets your mood and holidays help you to disconnect.Maybe
This is me to a T
@@feketestefan When its sunny out, I often feel better at work.
Come to Bangladesh and you'll see how sunshine makes your mood worse 😆
As an (Ex Pom) Australian I can 100% assure you you feel better with more sunshine!
I don’t know I absolutely hate days over about 33 C. Mind you I live in an old weatherboard aluminium cladded house with no weatherboards underneath, making it unbearable in really hot weather. At least when it so cold that fog comes out of my mouth while watching telly, I can rug up.
Dnt understand how porn has anything to do with the sun, other than your peculiar lifestyle "choice"
@Mick von Bornemann I don't like hot weather so much, or cold weather. But where I live it gets very cold while the sun is still bright and out, more than 320 days a year. If I had to deal with cold and dreary at the same time it would suck. I live near Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Im a south african, now living abroad and I hate sunny, hot weather. I feel happier and more energetic in cold, darker weather.
@@feelinguru-vywiththepaingu9808Sounds beautiful and yes I agree. Sunny but cold is very doable. Cold and dreary is so depressing.
Sun shine makes me happy 😃
Especially in england where sunshine isn’t present lol
Me as well🎉
@@JennTrotter it’s going to be sunny here in New York today I work outside so I love the summer don’t like the winter.
@@JennTrotter.
Really 😊
Sun makes everything better for me. It improves my mood, increases my energy, my motivation, improves my skin. However, I really love a temperate continental climate the best. Not a hot and humid one. Probably hot and dry would be ok as well. In my country, usually we have low humidity, hot summers, temperate autumns and springs and snowy and cold winters. As an Eastern European, it took me many years to get used to the British weather, my arthritis really flared up for a few years from the humidity in UK. Also, I developed allergies which I never had before, which are indirectly related to the weather, because my autoimmune condition put my body to stress and it caused an exacerbated histamine response and certainly the windy UK doesn’t help with polen alergies.
Sí, un sol que sea cálido y no agresivo es lo que uno desea. 😸
it does the exact opposite to me…sunny hot weather make me feel very depressed.
Same here to me!
The warm sunny weather sure makes me happy and energetic. Cold cloudy weather sure makes me depressed and tired. I agree.
I am happy the most in the summer. I get crazy moody and sad in the winter.
I live in a cold region, a valley. Recently, I travelled to the beach and instantly felt better. No back pain, ho headaches. Was it the sun? The beach? The feeling of freedom? I don’ know, but I wish that well-being feeling lasted a bit more.
Everything in moderation and balance. Having lived in Thailand and Paraguay the sun and heat was inescapable. I live in Scotland and I appreciate the sun a lot more but also appreciate the rain which also gives us life. I think there are many many other factors that affect happiness before sun.
I absolutely agree with you my friend. I’m originally from the north eastern part of US in Pennsylvania then moved to the south in Virginia I can tell you that the weather is almost night and day but I appreciate the warmer weather in moderation. I’m definitely ready for a break from the hot summer weather in VA after the weeks long 90+ daily temperatures.
l 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
I do love a clear-sky winter morning.
Absolutely. The happiest countries overall are consistently in Scandinavia, where exposure to sunshine is very low in at least a part of the year.
yeahh
Heat 100% alleviates my chronic pain. Much less pain in hot weather, every autumn, pain flares up bad. Also, when the weather shifts quickly (from either hot to cold or cold to hot) I get sick. I really don't think these "studies" apply to everyone here. I live in Canada-very extreme weather fluctuations-sometimes 38c in summer, and -40c in winter. We had a day recently that dropped 20c in 24 hours. That is not healthy for anyone.
Please look at studies on vitamin D deficiency and chronic pain, it may not apply to you but it may help.
Come to Myanmar. You can always feel warmth in all season all the time in our country.
crazy weather omg
Thanks for sharing. You may also like this podcast too looking at the health benefits of massage 👉🏽 kzhead.info/sun/pKyBmch-bqR5nas/bejne.html
@@BBCWorldService😊yuicredo hatt tree free h ee rrtdz
Interesting! Thank you for this documentary! I just had this topic with my neighbor in northern Germany. I come from a subtropical country, where it’s most time of the year sunny and warm. At the beginning when I moved to Germany I had really headaches and depression and feeling trapped inside something grey.
Thanks for sharing. You may also like this podcast too looking at the health benefits of massage 👉🏽 kzhead.info/sun/pKyBmch-bqR5nas/bejne.html
I work at an amazon warehouse on a 10 hour shift, starting at 1:20 am. When I get to see the sun, I get happy and as I'm already halfway until the shift ends. It also lifts up my mood.
Hope you've been able to get a better job since, all reports of amazon working conditions are truly horrible
The reason I left the UK was the awful grey weather. Now I have sunshine everyday!
Where do you live now?
Same here 👍
Indonesia?
I love a bright sunny day. It just brightens up my day and puts me in a better mood all day
The beauty of the rising sun alway keeps my mood great. Africa, especially sierra Leone sun shine great.
I travel from Ontario to Florida each Jan & Feb and I know that I feel really alive knowing that I have avoided the worse part of winter. As a cyclist I am in bicycle heaven.
I live in Florida and I get tired of heat. I like seasonal changes of northern border area and Canada. But too much cold and snow will get to me. It's a brief respite though.
I was lived in Florida but now I am in Ontario :(
summer and sunlight depress me. I feel invigorated and happy by the stars, the night, stargazing, the northern lights and Sirius
Wow ! Each to his own. This is something unique .
Cool
@@jkardez4794😮😮ugu
I believe probably we got too much of sunshine, nearby equator , therefore we want to have the night and galaxy more 😊
I adore both. What despairs me is grey sky that clouds both sunshine and other stars seen at night.
Totally agreed with you especially I am originally from Malaysia but now liviing in Finland, we always move to the place with sun during the polar night season.
Seriously sunshine really helps our mood and body. Whenever winter is coming, I would feel sad. I dread winter coming. I do not like the gloom and it gets dark at 5pm. I do not enjoy the cold or wrapping myself up with so many layers of clothing. My joints ache and stiffen and my muscles tense up when it's cold. My vision gets worse in winter too. In summer when there's lots sunshine the opposite happens - happier muscles and joints and things are clearer! It’s pretty common sense - we use heat pads to alleviate pain and aches and relax sore muscles - so sunshine does similar things to our body.
I get arthirits in my fingers and I agree that my mood is better when I'm in a hot country and consequently I pay less attention to the pain but, if I focus on my hands, its still there. My diet is better in hot countries and I feel that is also beneficial. Refreshingly interesting docu. I shall look out for more of these
I live in semi-desertic climate, with episodes of droughts, and believe me: I´m far happier and more energetic when the sky is cloudy, the weather humid and rainy. 10°C is for me better than 40°C. ( 40°F , 100°F).
Yeah babe, but we are British. People here have meltdowns when it reaches 15°
I absolutely know that it is true. I am a depressive who has told other people that if you can get depressives out into the sunlight, they will feel better.
Not when one lives in the tropics. Sunshine makes me depressed. I love cold dark rainy days.
This is why I move to San Diego California incredible 🌞 ☀️ 🌤 sunshine 🌞 ☀️ 💛
Sun bathing under the California sun right now, with my bulldog by my side in the shade. 😂😂 Love the sun.
I comment without watching video, the answer is YES. having lived in a gloomy weathered country from a tropical one. You wont notice it at first but over weeks and months of cloudy dark weather i was starting to feel down even with people around you.
Sunshine and the warmth sure make me happy and energetic. Clouds and cold make me depressed and tired. I agree totally.
I love a bright sunny day. It just brightens up my day and puts me in a better mood all day😊
yes, me too
Weather definitely has a direct impact on our mood and health.
All things in balance. I live in Texas and the 3 months of 100° F+ is paralyzing.
Autumn and light summer nicely effect on my mood. It makes me feel glad and healthy. Sunlight gets away my laziness and yawing and gives me energy and focus to perform any sort of task effectively.
Shout out for Lester Middle School all the way across the world in Okinawa Japan! Come on, give us your best Wildcat Roar!
Yes the sun shine always gives me hope and good mood.
I hate the sun and avoid it whenever I can. It makes me feel anxious. I love cloudy days and darkness. However most of the people I know get sad when there is no sun. Sunshine makes them feel happy as they tell me this, I keep my feelings about the sun to myself.
Being indoors on a rainy day is comforting. Being outdoors on a rainy day feels dramatic. Being indoors on a sunny day I feel guilty. Being outdoors on a sunny day can be nice, but no sports (dangerous) or exercise (boring) and then there are the bugs and heat. I did not mind the lockdown at all.
💯 agreed 😊! Sun elevates mood warmth, happiness and personally health wise I benefit and definitely prefer warm climate, psychological well-being is way better. Health issues like Arthritis, chronic pain, lack of VitD, heart issues, blood circulation, drive sun (UV rays) energy. Some feel and deteriorates in winter season, I love the natural☀️.
Agreed
Interesting! Thank you for this documentary!
As someone coming from Cameroon to the UK. The winter has been the most challenging thing for me 😂... its cold and the sunshine isn't like back home .I was enthusiastic and happy with the warm and sunny climate than it is here
I remember being super happy for no reason in the first year after I moved from Britain to Australia. But it settled down after that. There are a lot of Australians who suffer from depression as well.
I recently travelled to Belgium form Qld Australia I froze caught the flu within a week of arriving there the whole body hurt days we're dark gloomy rain all day and freezing cold. Not a fan. In Australia I wake up early watch the sunrise and exercise this is positive start to the day 😊
I also grow up in sunny one of the country of Central Asia. Sunshine ia also makes me happy.
I live in Sri Lanka and infact we face sunlight all year. And I feel so happy seeing it so I have used very less thick curtains allowing lots of sunlight to pour in. I feel hopeless when in cloudy days and so much sleepy. Rain is OK. Given there is sunlight. But cloudy rainy days I sleep cannot work🙄
I left SriLanka) to live in Canada. So much weather difference...
im so tired of winter and cold
I am an indoor person, not inclined to be outside. Lately I began to sit outside for an hour in afternoon, taking in sun warmth and no mosquito in February. I never have done this before. Winter Sun feels really nice.
Weather really makes difference. Waking up with sun is awesome. Sometimes clouds and rain can bring a well appreciated change. Gloomy for weeks in then it becomes issue. Sunny for days it becomes gloomy and dreading etc. a variety is best. Days on end same weather just nah cannot do it. It has to be different every few days because that way you appreciate every part of it
I don’t think people take in the “change of environment aspect” into the equation, after all your stress level affects you more than you think, people are more likely to engage more physical activities during warmer weather, increase mobility increase mood, so it’s a bundle of things. Not just the sunlight I think.
I always feel happier in sunshine.
I live in Indonesia Right under the equator line, where the sun shines all year long. I realize that most people in Indonesia, our attitude towards the rays, we take it for granted . Having darker skin is kind of live threatening 🙈
这个视频真是太有启发性了!感谢分享,让我明白了关于睡眠的更多信息。
I'm from the South of Spain and I feel that without the sunshine I'd be really unhappy.
Hello how are you doing?
Hi pretty lady how are you doing ♥️
I lives in Hawaii..my aches and pains has no different than living in non-tropical country. sometimes i feel depressed seeing the sun
I live in Africa and I don't really understand. I have nothing else to compare to. For me the sun just burns and we are always seeking shade. Those African hutts are cool, very nice to spend the day in.
Sun Shine makes me enthusiastic for rest of the day
Sunshine is great but too much can cause problems including health and send you scurrying into the shade .
We in India have a special prayer which is also an exercise call Surya namaskar. Meaning salutations to the sun God. 12 steps. It’s compleat full body exercise with a chant of prayer. OM surya namah. 🙏
It's so nice to know that the BBC is tackling the most important questions in the world 🌎 today ✨️ 🙏 🙌 ♥️ 💖 ❤️ ✨️
I feel like you don't even have to travel to another country to experience the effects that the weather will have on you. I live in India. During the summer I feel like my pain is cured and I am the happiest. But when the first raindrop hits the ground at monsoon, my body pain rises by 100%. It is not just the weather I feel like the temperature also has an effect on your sensation of pain and mood.
Maybe see a doctor for vitamin d deficiency
Is it the barometric pressure?
When the winter comes, my varicose veins start hurting (which happens super rarely in summer) , even my skin becomes painfull, my knees hurt (even though I am a young person) and I just feel sad and some winters even depressed because of the changes in my body. And I do still go outside alot in winter and I eat healthy, but it doesnt really help that much. One of my biggest goals in life is to be able to live in a climate that still has winters and summers, but not so cold that it causes pain to my body. I definitely see how cold weather can make people more depressed and sad.
Thanks for sharing. I thought I was the only person on this planet whose skin hurts when it’s cold. I wish you the very best.
@@claudiamanta1943 I am sure, that theres so many more people, who have these winter health problems/disturbances as well. Sadly, its not encouraged to speak about them openly. I wish u all the best too, and for You to have opportunities to be in an environment , that benefits Your health. 🌞☺️
@@LaumaBelska Thank you ☺️
BBC needs to step up on this issue not send a message to people in UK to discourage them from sunshine due to the economic scene ,yes the stories on getting backed is related to temperature but vitamin D is important for strong bones in the elderly and good for health
It makes you feel happy if other things are in place too. Like clean water, food, shade and shelter from the sunshine or is this just about tourists and first world countries. I moved to a warmer, sunshine climate because Sunshine does make me feel fantastic. BUT only because I have the basics above.
Great comments! Agreed with you guys!) Weather makes a difference. I like all seasons...from the foggy, rainy fall to the heat, boiling summer.
thanks you for your sharing 🙏
My personal observations are very similar to this episode, almost every part of it. And I'm also suffering from the anxiety of not having enough sun from Northern Taiwan. 😢
I feel much happier and have more energy in cloudy cool weather. The sun makes me so tired.
In summer clouds give me comfort. In winter i don't mind some sunshine. I live in South Africa and our hot summers stress me out. Only cool, cloudy days and our wonderful storms make summer bearable for me.
After moving to Seattle and living here 3 years YES sunshine make you happy !
I'll admit that a sunny day brightens the mood for me. 😊
Yes, it does. Thank you
It was an eye opener and explained some home truths and causes. 😮
Very nice perspective of happiness. Wow 😳
Thank you for all the info you share with young people. Calvary Lutheran High School in Jefferson City, MO. It's a great day to be a Lion in Ms. Lane's Study Skills Class.
Definitely the sunshine impacts our life positively, speaking of my own experiences, I have moved to Barcelona from Dublin, because of Dublin there was no sunshine and constant raining.
I live 200km north of Saigon, Viet Nam where you can expect the sun rises everyday. for such a beautiful day as western view, i still feel depressed sometimes. The definition of a beautiful day seems other way around, when it is cloudy and less hot with a nice breeze. that's a beautiful day to us. Camping and things can be on such those days.
Sunshine and a blue sky is the best anti depressant. I stayed in Morocco 🇲🇦 for 6 months. The best time of my life. Sunshine is really a great boost to health.
Sunshine makes me happy!
What Martin needs are parabolic mirrors. They would be easier to adjust and stronger than flat mirrors, and could potentially cover a larger area of the town with sunshine. A capable mathematician and engineer would be able to assist with the calculations.
I lived in Florida for a year and it was best year of my life. Then moved to London for 2 years, and it was tragic😢. Sunshine is super important, and it affect your mental and physical health directly. English people are rude and unfriendly in general, and I figured why as soon as I experience the weather there. Also, the food culture is horrible, there is nothing but gloomy depressed people and rain.
It probably has something to do with Brexit.
Well you said you lived in London...hardly English as we are in a minority there, and any English left are no doubt miserable there as they ain't truly living in a place which could be categorised as English.
❤❤❤❤❤
@@kevinheath7588 Miserable? Try living in Sunderland for a year then you'll understand the true meaning of miserable.
@@Chopper8472 Lived in Redcar when I was little, still not over the ghastly experience...so I hear you 😊
Sunshine is absolutely unbearable when depressed
But what about darkness when it's gloomy?
@@jkardez4794 it's confortable
You feel as though the sun is mocking you?
Right now its cold and rainy in NYC. Cant say im thrillled. I recall spending a week in London for a week in dark, cold, and gloomy weather for vacation. Ugh...
YES! YES!!! As someone who have been a hermit. Yes. I’d love people to be woken up by the beautiful sun and be grateful to God.
I would really recommend the book by Dr. Holley "The Vitamin D Solution". Dr. Holley has studied the subjetc for more than 40 years!
I feel happier in rainy days this my personality 🤩
Me too 😅
Por supuesto, ver el sol y sentirlo me hace muy feliz y me dan ganas de hacer muchas cosas. ❤
But for me, in a tropical country Vietnam. In Spring and especially Summer, it's really hot and the sunlight is abundant. I wish it's cloudy :))
ABSOLUTELY!
I love the spring time because of the shift
If I could leave England for a warmer climate, I’d do it tomorrow as I know it benefits my physical and mental health
Yes, makes a massive difference! "SAD" ... Seasonal Affective Dissorder 0:45 is a real thing
Very thankful to live in Sydney ☀️
I live in Denmark and I like to take a couple of weeks in Thailand at the end of each year.. it's not the cold, it's the lack of daylight that I can't deal with.
Coming to UK from Portugal this is very real.
Where are you from
I was born and lived in craptown England for 30 years. When I moved to Thailand I instantly felt better. It's summer time every day. Barbecues on the street. Multicultural music, events and festivals.
It depends mostly on ppls circumstances in life. My mum passed away and since that day no sunlight cheered me up 😢
This is probably why english people love vacationing in spain. Thank you for informative english contents.
I lived in Tropical Kerala, India, and did not see value in Sunlight till some time before. Actually, the heat and humidity was nothing to be fond of. But in the last 2 years I have been living in the UK, and I completely understand the value of Sunlight. The winter months are literally struggle for me. But the summer in UK is just the best.
Excellent!!!
However the reverse thing happens to me. I am originally from Bangladesh which exerts 6 seasons in one year, and winter, rainy and sunny seasons are the most prevalent here. I never get depressed in winter, even my motivation is triggered at this time. It's true that I become a little bit lethargic but it doesn't hamper my studies or other activities. I feel more down in summer. 🙂
It is really good effort.
they often conflate warmth with sunnyness. There are many warm climates that are not sunny.
And indeed many cold places that are very sunny.
I think that I felt gloomy when it was cloudy and rainy because of my being reserved. I come to realize that the weather influences the feeling of everyone.
Indonesian here 🖐🏼. Been living here since birth, not a fan of strong sunshine with the high humidity, it makes me high tempered and not eager to stay outside if not necessary. The extreme heat and the humidity are the cause, i have no prob with the light itself. When it is gloomy and cloudy, my mood becomes alot better, and im a happier person. Not sure if i resided in cold European cities, I only several times visiter them in autumn seasons. I know some caught winter depression.