Sunshine and Health

00:00 - 16 Dec 2025

There is something appealing in the doctrine of the healthfulness of fresh air and sunshine. It almost seems as though they represent instinctive preferences on the part of mankind so far as modes of living are concerned. These atmospheric factors play a large part in the propaganda of medical climatology, yet it has not been easy to define their potencies in terms of concrete benefits or to describe their functions in the language of scientific endeavor. The demonstration that the sun’s rays may destroy certain microorganisms was welcomed, for it gave the semblance of tangible advantage to sunlight. The antirachitic effects of exposure to sunlight discovered during the last few years indicate the therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy of sunlit air. Hope has been awakened of further advantages to be learned, and warnings have even been issued against the possible harmfulness of overexposure to such types of radiation in the belief that it may be healthful, curative or even injurious, depending on the “dosage.”