Is it possible to tan at night

But generally, the sun is strongest between 10 a. According to a review , sunscreen is especially important between 10 a. At noon, the sun is highest in the sky, which actually means the sun is strongest measured using UV index because the rays have the shortest distance to travel to Earth. You may like the way you look with a tan, and sunbathing may temporarily boost your mood because of the exposure to vitamin D, but tanning is very risky.

Risks associated with tanning include:. Indoor tanning beds are not safe. The light and heat they give off exposes your body to unsafe levels of UV rays. Eating foods that are high in lycopene, like tomato paste, may make your skin less vulnerable to sunburn, though you should still wear sunscreen.

Getting a tan from the sun is, without doubt, the healthiest and least harmful way to tan. However, even after long discussions on how to get a healthy tan naturally, there are still many myths going around. One of these myths is that you cannot get a tan after 5 PM. Before digging any further, let me answer that question for you. The simple answer is yes, you can still get a tan after 5 PM. So is that it? If you want to get the best tan possible, you must know everything about tanning in the evening.

How do we bask without baking ourselves? Between 10 AM and 4 PM, the sun will reach its highest temperature of the day this time period is called the peak time. The peak time is the hottest time of the day regardless of the season.

The hours outside of peak time are cooler as the sun will either be rising or setting. These weaker sun rays can still give you tan and with longer exposure, a burn too.

People have different opinions and time preferences when it comes to tanning. Long exposures to UV rays are harmful to human beings and can cause sunburns as well as many types of skin cancers.

If you are not cautious, tanning during the peak hours will result in a sunburn rather than a healthy tan. This makes evening and morning tanning sessions more popular. This question has a very subjective answer.

However, some people do prefer tanning after this hour. If you are extremely pale or have fair skin, you may have noticed that your skin will turn red when exposed to sun for either short or long periods of time. Naturally, your skin is very sensitive to the sun and will burn quicker than somebody with a darker skin. When considering sunbathing, peak hours are dangerous, even if you are timing the duration of the session. But, by the time you realise you have a sunburn, you will have already been exposed for too long.

If you are lucky enough to still have sunshine at this time of night, then this is the best time for you to tan! If you think about it, it is a bit of a win-win. You will be able to spend the stinking hot days indoors with aircon, and only go out to tan when it is cool and quiet. Being able to successfully tan at 6 pm will depend on the season you are in.

Summer is the perfect time to tan outdoors at 6 pm, and in any case, you want a tan for summer more than for any other season, right? At higher altitudes the air is thinner and cleaner, making it easy for the UV rays to pass through; thus making them more potent when reaching your skin. So if you are high up in the mountains during summer, you most probably could get a pretty good tan at 6 pm. They will be hitting you straight on if you are at the equator, making them quite dangerous if you do not take any precautions.

How long you need to spend in the sun at 6 pm to tan will vary depending on many factors. What season you are in will dictate whether or not the sun is actually out at 6 pm to tan. There is no point standing outside in autumn trying to tan under a full moon — it will not work.

The higher up you are on land also affects how long you need to spend tanning. Being close to the equator is always good — you probably have beautifully hot days in summer and can tan at 6 pm all year round. However, you need to be careful not to overexpose your skin to the sun. If you are lucky enough and there is still sunshine at 6 pm, it will probably take an hour or two over a few nights to gradually build up a tan.

You will still need to have sunscreen on, just to give your skin a buffer from the more harmful rays of the sun. The best time of day to tan is in the morning hours when the sun is at its weakest and the human circadian rhythm is at its optimal time. This is especially important for those with lighter skin. Regular exposure will build a base tan.

I can clearly understand this position, but there are a bunch of real-world issues with it that cancer societies ignore. If you take it to their extreme and follow the position that no amount of sun exposure is safe, then we might as well all pack it in and sit on the couch all day and watch TV.

The best time of day to tan is in the morning, and the best hours to tan are from 8am to about 11am. The sun is at its most powerful between 12pm and 3pm, when its rays are strongest. But for many people, the sun during this time is too strong, and sensitive skin will burn and get immediately damaged.

Due to this circumstance, it can often be smart to avoid tanning during this time and instead choose a time when the sun is less intense. Either time will work, but for humans, it seems that early morning tanning is better than late afternoon. Early morning sun can be extremely valuable to those of us with fair, light, sensitive skin. Focusing your suntan schedule on the morning hours where the sun is relatively weak, and the body is ready to fix DNA damage, will allow you to build the all-important base tan as safely as possible.

Early morning sun exposure is ideal, and it will likely provide similar benefits to a dawn simulator light or Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD light. Essentially none of the scientific bodies recommend tanning during peak sun times. The sun is too powerful, and even those with dark skin, can suffer DNA damage. You should avoid suntanning during these times if at all possible, and wear a healthy amount of high-SPF sunblock. However, the reality of living in the world is that many of us want to be outside during the peak times of the day, whether it be at the park, the beach, going for a run, playing a game at the golf course, etc.

All of these activities can bring great health benefits, but they involve sun exposure. For this reason, you should be cautious about sun exposure.