“Skegness is so bracing” announced the wonderful Edwardian railway poster, and now there’s evidence that the seaside really is a healthier place to live.
People living by the sea in England have higher vitamin D levels than those living inland, according to a new study published in the journal Environment International. Vitamin D now has an enormous reputation for giving a boost to health. Not only is it crucial for making healthy bones, but it has also been shown to be involved in helping to fight off certain cancers, diabetes, schizophrenia and many other illnesses. The key to making lots of Vitamin D is getting enough strong ultraviolet rays from sunshine on the skin, but the British climate is not ideally suited to year-round sunshine. And with more people spending too much time indoors, there is a growing realisation that much of the British population is suffering from vitamin D deficiency.
Last year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence called for vitamin D supplements to be made far more widely available, but a move to the seaside would seem to be the perfect antidote.
Fewer clouds, and sunlight reflecting off the sea and sand expose people at the coast to more UV rays, boosting the levels of vitamin D. This has a big impact on health, quite separate from the seaside tending to make people take more exercise and reduce stress.
“Recent research has shown that populations living close to the coast tend to have improved health and wellbeing,” said researcher Mark Cherrie of Exeter University. “Our study suggests that direct physiological factors could be important, with higher vitamin D levels potentially explaining some of the effects.”
