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Protecting Your Skin From the Sun

Use the following tips to protect your skin from the sun. You may decrease your chances of getting skin cancer and help prevent wrinkles.

Even if you don’t sunburn as easily, you can still get skin cancer so it’s important to use sun protection, no matter what color your skin is.

  • Stay out of the sun during the peak hours of UV radiation. Peak hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Find shade if you need to be outdoors. You can also find how much UV exposure you are getting by using the shadow rule. If your shadow is longer than you, then UV exposure is low. If your shadow is shorter than you, then UV exposure is high.
  • Wear protective clothing. This can include:
    • Wide-brimmed hats that protect the face and neck.
    • Tightly-woven clothes made of thick material, such as unbleached cotton, polyester, wool, or silk.
    • Dark clothes with dyes added that help absorb UV radiation.
    • Loose-fitting long-sleeved clothes that cover as much of the skin as possible.
    • Clothes with sun protection factor (SPF) in the fabric that doesn’t wash out.
  • Wear sunscreen, with an SPF of 30 or higher, every day. This includes summer and winter, on both cloudy and clear days.
  • Use sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB radiation. Apply to all exposed skin, including the nose, lips, ears, scalp, back of the hands, and neck. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going in the sun, and reapply it every 2 hours and after swimming, exercising, or sweating.
  • Use protective lip balm. Use lip balm or cream that has an SPF of 30 or higher to protect your lips from getting sunburned.
  • Wear wraparound sunglasses. Choose ones that block at least 99% of UVA and UVB radiation.
  • Be careful when you are on sand, snow, or water. These surfaces can reflect 85% of the sun’s rays.
  • Avoid artificial sources of UVA radiation. This includes sunlamps and tanning booths. Like the sun, they can cause skin damage and increase the risk of skin cancer.

Protegiendo tu piel del sol

Utilice los siguientes consejos para proteger su piel del sol. Puede disminuir sus posibilidades de contraer cáncer de piel y ayudar a prevenir las arrugas.

Incluso si no se quema con el sol tan fácilmente, aún puede tener cáncer de piel, por lo que es importante usar protección solar, sin importar el color de su piel.

  • Manténgase alejado del sol durante las horas pico de radiación UV.
    El horario pico es de 10 a. m. a 4 p. m. Busque sombra si necesita estar al aire libre. También puede encontrar cuánta exposición a los rayos UV está recibiendo utilizando la regla de la sombra. Si tu sombra es más larga que tú, entonces la exposición a los rayos UV es baja. Si tu sombra es más corta que tú, entonces la exposición a los rayos UV es alta.
  • Use ropa protectora
    Esto puede incluir:
    • Sombreros de ala ancha que protegen la cara y el cuello.
    • Ropa de tejido tupido hecha de material grueso, como algodón, poliéster, lana o seda sin blanquear.
    • Ropa oscura con tintes añadidos que ayudan a absorber la radiación UV
    • Ropa holgada de manga larga que cubra la mayor parte de la piel posible
    • Ropa con factor de protección solar (SPF) en el tejido que no se lava.
  • Use protector solar, con un SPF de 30 o más, todos los días.
    Esto incluye verano e invierno, tanto en días nublados como despejados.
  • Use protector solar que bloquee la radiación UVA y UVB.
    Aplicar en toda la piel expuesta, incluida la nariz, los labios, las orejas, el cuero cabelludo, el dorso de las manos y el cuello. Aplique protector solar 30 minutos antes de exponerse al sol y vuelva a aplicarlo cada 2 horas y después de nadar, hacer ejercicio o sudar.
  • Use bálsamo labial protector
    Use bálsamo o crema para labios que tenga un SPF de 30 o más para proteger sus labios de las quemaduras solares.
  • Use lentes de sol envolventes
    Elija los que bloqueen al menos el 99% de la radiación UVA y UVB.
  • Tenga cuidado cuando esté sobre arena, nieve o agua.
    Estas superficies pueden reflejar el 85% de los rayos del sol.
  • Evite las fuentes artificiales de radiación UVA.
    Esto incluye lámparas solares y cabinas de bronceado. Al igual que el sol, pueden dañar la piel y aumentar el riesgo de cáncer de piel.

4 Tips for Improving the Quality and Quantity of Sleep

Sleep is an important part of your overall physical and mental health. Depending on how well you sleep can determine how you feel during the day. It helps your body to recover after a workout, sickness or surgery. It helps your brain reset and create new pathways which helps you learn, make decisions easier and retain information better. Sleep deficiency, on the other hand, has been linked to obesity, heart and kidney disease, diabetes and even stroke. 

In order to get a good night’s sleep every night, consider these four tips from VEBA Resource Center’s Director of Coaching, Robert Cappuccio, to improve the quality and quantity of your nightly ZZZ’s. 

Tip #1: Stage Your Sleep Environment

Where you sleep can make a huge difference in how you sleep. About an hour before you are ready for bed, shut off the TV and electronic devices — including your phone! Then, when you are ready to hit the sack, make sure you make your room as dark as possible. Pull the shades, close the blinds and maybe get a sleep mask. 

Another tip to make your sleep sound is to keep your room cool. According to Chris Winter, MD, president of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine in Virginia, your room temperature should be set between 60 – 67 degrees Fahrenheit, with the ideal for improving sleep quality being 65 degrees. Helping your core temperature drop, which naturally happens during sleep, can help you fall asleep faster.

Tip #2: Stay Active

It may seem a little counter-intuitive — get active to sleep better. Daily movement, not too close to bedtime, helps promote better sleep. Just 30 minutes per day of moderate aerobic exercise can positively impact sleep quality, according to Charlene Gamaldo, M.D., medical director of Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep at Howard County General Hospital. Pick an exercise you like and try to do it every day for better sleep.

Tip #3: Get Outside

It’s also important to soak up the sun! A Finnish study published in the Journal of Neuroendocrinology found that when two groups of rats were exposed to the same amount of light, one group fluorescent, the other natural sunlight, after one week the group that was exposed to natural sunlight produced significantly more melatonin than the group exposed to artificial light. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the Pineal gland that among other things, helps to regulate sleep-wake cycles in the body. Try and get outside everyday to help your sleep journey.

Tip #4: Keep a Worry Journal

Do your worries or what you need to do the next day keep you awake at night? Before bedtime write down the most pressing worries of the day. Also, make a to-do list for the next day and prioritize the top 2-3 items. This way you can file your worries and priorities away for the next day, so they don’t take up any mental bandwidth in your mind at night.

As you embark on your health journey, be sure to include sleep as part of the equation. For more tips on a good night’s sleep, read How to Get Good, Quality Sleep or watch “How to Get Quality Sleep” to reinforce the importance of journaling before bed.