When you work from home, especially during a pandemic, it is easy to stay inside for so long that you feel like a hibernating bear. However, it is necessary to make sure you get out and bask in the sun—at least a little—and not spend all of your time inside. The reason? Vitamin D. “The sun's rays provide ultraviolet B (UVB) energy, and the skin uses it to start making vitamin D. (The skin actually produces a precursor that is converted into the active form of the vitamin by the liver and kidneys.) Vitamin D is best known for its vital role in bone health. Without this ‘sunshine vitamin,’ the body can't absorb the calcium it ingests, so it steals calcium from bones, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. Vitamin D also helps maintain normal blood levels of phosphorus, another bone-building mineral.”

Of course, while it is important to get some sun in order to get that all-important vitamin D, it is also important to make sure not to get too much sun or you could run the risk of a sunburn or more serious medical issues. “Under the right circumstances, 10 to 15 minutes of sun on the arms and legs a few times a week can generate nearly all the vitamin D we need. Unfortunately, the ‘right circumstances’ are elusive: the season, the time of day, where you live, cloud cover, and even pollution affect the amount of UVB that reaches your skin. What's more, your skin's production of vitamin D is influenced by age (people ages 65 and over generate only one-fourth as much as people in their 20s do), skin color (African Americans have, on average, about half as much vitamin D in their blood as white Americans), and sunscreen use (though experts don't all agree on the extent to which sunscreen interferes with sun-related vitamin D production).”[1]

So what is the take away here? Vitamin D is immensely important and we can get it from the sun, but we have to be careful about how we get it because prolonged sun exposure can cause other issues. Talk to your doctor about your specific vitamin needs, and slather on some sunscreen and head outside for a few minutes. It is okay to take a break—those emails will be waiting for you in your home office when you return.

[1] “Time for More Vitamin D.” Harvard Health, Harvard University, Sept. 2008, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/time-for-more-vitamin-d.