Study: Sunbathing may be addictive
By James Gallagher, BBC
Spending time basking in the sun’s warming rays may have addictive properties, claim researchers in the United States.
Their study, published in the journal Cell, showed that sunlight led to the production of endorphins in the skin.
The Harvard Medical School team said their experiments on mice showed repeated UV exposure led to addiction in the animals.
Other scientists said describing it as “addiction” was a step too far.
There have been previous suggestions that people can get addicted to the sun.
A study of university students using tanning salons suggested around one in three met the definition for addiction.
Other trials showed withdrawal symptoms could appear, including nausea, jitteriness and shaking, when enthusiastic tanners were given a drug used to treat addiction.