Have We Thrown Too Much Shade on Sunlight?

For centuries, we’ve flip-flopped over whether our health depends on soaking up its rays—or shielding ourselves from them. The current conventional wisdom is clear: Avoid sunburns at all costs, using shade, hats, long sleeves, and the highest SPF sunscreen your drugstore has to offer. Though we’ve lived under it for all of human history, we’ve never quite figured out how much sun is actually good for us. Review of Fate, Exposure, and Effects of Sunscreens in Aquatic Environments and Implications for Sunscreen Usage and Human Health, The National Academies Press, 2022. “Sunscreen: A History,” The New York Times, June 23, 2010.