Sun gazing and bizzarre 'health' rituals

[Unsilenced]

This is bad for you in so many ways. http://gizmodo.com/5926497/what-happens-when-you-stare-at-the-sun

If it sounds stupid, it probably is.

 

[Yopaz]

Yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and tell you to stop staring at the sun now. While it's a lot less dangerous at sunrise and sunset (because the shorter wavelengths like UV are being scattered more by the atmosphere), you're still not doing your eyes any favors.

I'm not sure what you mean about photosynthesis--could you tell us what the articles say? Humans do photosynthesize vitamin D, but that happens in the skin, so just getting out into sunlight will do it without looking directly at the sun.

It also doesn't happen at sunset since the kind of UV used to make Vitamin D is scattered too easily to actually reach to any degree.

OT: This isn't complete and utter bullshit. You have a ritual where you relax your body and mind while watching something. It's not the sun gazing itself, but the fact that you let yourself relax for a short while which makes you release tension. If you want to keep doing this my advice would be to get some decent sunglasses, but you're better off finding a new ritual.

As a mammal, you get energy from carbohydrates, which often are the chemical stores of energy that plants have built up from photosynthesis. Even if you could get your energy from the sun, you still, like a plant, would be unable to get anything else except vitamin D. That's why plants need soil. Incidentally, if you're worried about vitamin D intake, you shouldn't be:

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/new-recommendations-for-calcium-and-vitamin-d-intake/

As for the topic, your post puts me in mind of Inedia or Breatharianism:

This depends a lot on where you live actually. Living far north might make you more likely to get Vitamin D deficiency, especially if you've got dark skin (protects against UV radiation). It's fairly easy to get enough, but deficiency can lead to a lot of things. I agree that this particular thing is bullshit though.

 

[Tahaneira]

This is actually good timing for a thread like this: The other day I visited the old woman down the hall from me. When I found out she was using homeopathic sleeping pills I downed about 20 of them to make my point. I reimbursed the money she spent on that racket, and she hasn't bought any ever since.

Funny story about that. I have pretty bad insomnia, and sleeping at nights has almost always been a struggle for me. Eventually, for the hell of it, I bought some sleeping pills that are probably homeopathic and started taking them. And voila, I started being ale to sleep at nights.

Is it just a placebo? Probably. But I don't want to know if it is, because that might make it stop getting me to sleep at night. Chemical or psychosomatic, these things work, and sleep is worth twenty bucks every month and a half to me.

Just because it's all in your head doesn't make it worthless.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

Yeah, no. Staring at the sun yields scant benefit, least of which to your eyes. What you're feeling is either a placebo or something you could replicate by just meditating.

This is bad for you in so many ways. http://gizmodo.com/5926497/what-happens-when-you-stare-at-the-sun

If it sounds stupid, it probably is.

Pretty much this, more so if the person gives you some really ropey justification for it without any kind of credible source.

 

[Clowndoe]

Just because it's all in your head doesn't make it worthless.

Heh, gives new meaning to the expression "whatever helps you sleep at night."

Although phony sleeping pills may be mostly harmless, I wouldn't want people thinking it works and then going for phony anti-biotics or cancer "medicine" when they get something serious. All the good faith in the world isn't a substitute for tried-and-tested medicine.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

I won't lie, sounds like a load of quackery to me. I just can't think of any reason why it should. Light is transformed into a nervous signal by the optic nerve, and that's about it.

I can. Belief is a powerful thing, which is why placebos are so important in drug tests and trials.

If you believe something is going to work, chances are that will impact the outcome. The mind is incredibly powerful. It also makes sense - if you can believe you're sick when you're not, then how is believing you're healthy such a farfetched thing?

As you said before, though - faith/belief is no substitute for tried-and-tested medicine, but that doesn't mean it's invalid. :3

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

As many already pointed out, looking directly into the sun offers no direct health benefits that you wouldn't get from just skin exposure and is in fact very bad for your eyes.

Nonetheless, OP, if you feel the need to gaze into the sun, you can do so safely by wearing a pair of eclipse glasses, or alternatively, a set of welding goggles with glass filters rated at least #14 or darker (you can order these at a good hardware store). You'll be able to stare directly at the sun for longer periods of time and maybe even see some larger sunspots with the naked eye.

 

[Clowndoe]

As you said before, though - faith/belief is no substitute for tried-and-tested medicine, but that doesn't mean it's invalid. :3

Just a disclaimer (not that I think you need one, I just want to play it safe): I'm not trying to be argumentative here, I'm just discussing.

If you want to feel good, can't you do it without blinding yourself or buying sugar pills (which is what homeopathy is)? I totally buy "laughter is the best medicine" and the power of positive thinking, but if you knew what you're doing is doubtfully scientific, to put it nicely, wouldn't you rather try something else like drinking tea, or meditating, or making a conscientious effort to put a positive spin on things? You can even do those things at sunrise and sunset if contemplating it makes you feel good. It just pains me to think people are staring at the sun to feel good while declaring they *know* it's a placebo.

 

[Exterminas]

If it makes you feel better, then it is obviously helping you. If it is helping you, then it is a health ritual or cure in the widest sense of the word and no study matters in that regard.

Don't get me wrong: If you have an illness that can be treated or cured by modern medicine, like a broken bone or a form of cancer, then you shouldn't avoid mainstream medicine in order to get cured by crystals and smokes.

But on the other hand, modern medicine is notorious for marginalizing or outright dismissing many symptoms as psychological. That isn't their fault, obviously, the system is just not set up to give everyone intensive psychological care for their little mood swings.

So the way I see it, this alternative stuff - even though if it just a grand way to utilize the placebo effect - can have a beneficial effect on an individuals well being. So go for the sun gazing, if it makes you feel better.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

This is a thing?...People really do this?...


Actually thinking about it, go ahead if you think it's a good idea, survival of the fittest an all.

 

[Queen Michael]

So the way I see it, this alternative stuff - even though if it just a grand way to utilize the placebo effect - can have a beneficial effect on an individuals well being. So go for the sun gazing, if it makes you feel better.

Thing is, sun-gazing can ruin his eyesight.
Permanently.
In my opinion, that's reason enough to stay away from it, regardless of how great the other effects might feel, placebo or not.

 

[TwiZtah]

Felt like making a thread where you could share any bizzarre 'healthy' activities you have tried or heard about. As for me, well I started 'sun gazing' at the recommendation of a vegan musician friend about 2 weeks ago.

It's the act of looking into the sun at dusk or dawn for a short time daily starting at 5-10 seconds and gradually increasing. Seeing as the sun powers all life on the planet I figured its plausible and gave it a shot. After about 14 days now I managed to do it a dozen times, and I have to say I do feel more charged and clear headed, especially for an hour or two after doing so.

However the more I look into it, the less I believable it becomes. The articles do a horrible job of citing sources, often choosing not to. The more I recall of photosynthesis the less sense it makes as well. Seeing as I habitually get migraines I figured I would not take the psilocybin I usually do quarter-annually as a preventative and continue sun gazing, if I do not get my annual christmas migraine I will claim my experiment a success.

So, ya not entirely sure on this one but I'll experiment on myself a while longer and find out.

Complete bullshit. Though the extra D-vitamin can be good, and maybe you get a little less sad.

 

[Smeatza]

snip

OP, please please stop.
If you want to move to alternate therapies I won't judge you, the placebo effect can be a powerful thing.
But please choose one that won't accidentally destroy your retinas.

 

[Product Placement]

Eh pretty much the responses I expected, and pretty much things I had been believing since starting. Either way it put a bit more regularity into my sleeping pattern not to mention I seen more sunrises in the past two weeks then i have my life (Bit of a stretch).

And that's pretty much the passive aggressive response I'd expect from someone, who peddles unfounded and dangerous alternative "healing" rituals, when he's told that it's not safe.

Seriously man, you're popping up to promote bloody sun gazing! This shit damages your eyes. Your eyes! If you want to blind yourself, that's fine but don't go telling people that this works because it's not true.

Like many people have already said, your mind is surprisingly capable in effecting your physical body.

A panic attack, which is simply a state of mind, can simulate the feeling of a heart attack. [http://www.prlog.org/10245130-is-it-panic-attack-or-heart-attack-know-the-difference.html] Placebos are used in clinical drug trials, to eliminate the possibility that the testers aren't simply creating the effect of the drug through the belief that the drug is working. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo-controlled_study] During a social experiment, people were given drinks and told that half of them would receive alcoholic beverages; 75% of the people claimed they felt the effects of the alcohol before being told that none of the drinks were alcoholic. (couldn't find the experiment that I was referencing but this is a similar one, with similar results.) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3035442.stm] Burn victims were placed in a virtual reality game where they traveled around an icy mountain world and fought snowmen with snow balls; they reported significant reduction in pain. [http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/01/31/snowworld_a_experimental_virtual_reality_game_to_distract_burn_victims_from_pain_.html]

Also, during your experiment, you're going out of your way to stop for a moment, relax and doing all the meditation that goes along with the process of sun gazing. Try going for a yoga class for couple of weeks and see if it won't net the same results.

 

[Queen Michael]

Eh pretty much the responses I expected, and pretty much things I had been believing since starting. Either way it put a bit more regularity into my sleeping pattern not to mention I seen more sunrises in the past two weeks then i have my life (Bit of a stretch).

Dude. This will ruin your eyes.
Repeat:
This.
Will ruin.
Your eyes.
You need to quit right now.

 

[Flutterguy]

And that's pretty much the passive aggressive response I'd expect from someone, who peddles unfounded and dangerous alternative "healing" rituals, when he's told that it's not safe.

Seriously man, you're popping up to promote bloody sun gazing! This shit damages your eyes. Your eyes! If you want to blind yourself, that's fine but don't go telling people that this works because it's not true.

Like many people have already said, your mind is surprisingly capable in effecting your physical body.

Also, during your experiment, you're going out of your way to stop for a moment, relax and doing all the meditation that goes along with the process of sun gazing. Try going for a yoga class for couple of weeks and see if it won't net the same results.

Yes tis likely a boat of quakery I've been conscribed to the train of thought since first thinking it over hence the apostrophes around health in the title and my insinuating the person telling me was far left liberal. Not like I'm here selling snake oil here, I'm quite the skeptic myself. Even in the likely case it was a rouse I come out with a much greater understanding of placebo effect. As far as eye strain goes, 5 seconds at a mostly hidden sun sounds alot less harmful then the 10+ hours a day spent on monitors.

My problem with the responses though, was hoping to hear of more crazy 'health' rituals, and all that was mentioned was fasting and fizzy drinks. Not as interesting as I was hoping. However I guess it's like making a thread called "I just made appleseed hummus anyone have other hummus recipes" clearly you will have alot of posts regarding arsenic and no tasty recipes.

 

[Product Placement]

My problem with the responses though, was hoping to hear of more crazy 'health' rituals, and all that was mentioned was fasting and fizzy drinks. Not as interesting as I was hoping.

Oh, there are plenty of alternatives out there, like Chakra healing [http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-91/The-7-Chakras-for-Beginners.html]; essentially just an intense form of meditation, homeopathy [http://www.homeopathy-soh.org/about-homeopathy/what-is-homeopathy/] and acupuncture [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acupuncture] but none of them carry the same potential to damaging your body as Sun gazing does (except of course when you choose to rely on alternatives over traditional, to combat serious illnesses (I'm looking at you, Steve Jobs)).

Point being, you choose to open up the discussion by bringing up an alternative treatment that's dangerous to practice. If you start your thread with an apple seed hummus recipe, I'd hope that it gets taken over by people warning that apple seeds are dangerous to your health.

 

[McMullen]

But on the other hand, modern medicine is notorious for marginalizing or outright dismissing many symptoms as psychological. That isn't their fault, obviously, the system is just not set up to give everyone intensive psychological care for their little mood swings.

Is it? I don't doubt that it happens occasionally, but usually when you hear that meme, it's coming from people trying to sell or promote alternative medicine. I'd like to know just how deserved that notoriety is, or if it's no more justified than how gamers are notorious for shooting up schools.

 

[Exterminas]

But on the other hand, modern medicine is notorious for marginalizing or outright dismissing many symptoms as psychological. That isn't their fault, obviously, the system is just not set up to give everyone intensive psychological care for their little mood swings.

Is it? I don't doubt that it happens occasionally, but usually when you hear that meme, it's coming from people trying to sell or promote alternative medicine. I'd like to know just how deserved that notoriety is, or if it's no more justified than how gamers are notorious for shooting up schools.

Obviously it varies from country to country. Here in Germany for example we have socialized medicine, so doctors don't profit much from keeping people around. So whenever you turn up at a doctor with some vague symptoms that he can't diagnose immediately (say for example headache), he'll tell you to go home and eat a banana until more serious symptoms show up.


Then again, in a system where doctors profit from feigning to know what is wrong with you, like the American health system, you'll probably get prescriptions much faster, though it's questionable weather those will do more harm than good.

So at least for my little corner of the world this complaint is valid, since doctors here tend to treat serious illnesses only and have a high tolerance for little things that can make an individual's life bothersome.