Sun Gazing meditation and its benefits

Sun gazing is a meditative practice in which you look at the sun during off peak times. People usually look directly at the sun during sunrise and sunset in an effort to harness the healing power of the sun. 

However, there is no research to back up the health benefits of sunbathing. Medical experts do not recommend this practice due to the risk of permanent eye damage. Let's take a look at the risks and benefits of practicing sun exposure and meditation. What is sun gazing? Sun gazing is a type of meditation, just like other meditation practices. 

For example, moon gazing Meditation while sun gazing is safer if you focus on something other than the sun and its harmful UV rays.This is beneficial in the sense that it prevents the risk of eye damage and also enhances the focus of the mind.

Safety precautions and risks

Most healthcare professionals do not recommend sun gazing because of the risks associated with it. Studies show that ocular diseases like photo keratitis and certain eye cancers are associated with exposure to the radiation of the sun.

If you want to gaze at the sun, you should wear sunglasses that provide 100% UV or UV 400 protection.

Meditation's Advantages

There are a lot of benefits to safe meditation. Meditation helps improve measures of pain, depression, and anxiety. Meditation practices, along with treatments, are a low-cost method of complementary support for those living with anxiety. Meditation is also shown to improve the process of emotional healing. 

Improvements are seen in certain elements of emotion processing like intensity, emotional memory, and emotion attention bias. It also helps improve sleep patterns for those with sleep disturbances, although more research is needed to confirm this. 

Meditation has so many benefits and is safe for most healthy people. You do not have to gaze at the sun to get these benefits. There are a lot of other meditation options.

Benefits of Safe Sun Exposure

Safe sun gazing without looking directly into the sun has many benefits. General sunlight exposure can help improve sleep quality, combat fatigue and drowsiness, improve or maintain mental health, and increase vitamin D and bone health. 

Also, just being outside has perceived benefits for mental health. This means that outdoor meditative practice could be beneficial even without gazing at the sun.

Vitamin D helps in maintaining many functions of the body, like the circadian rhythm and sleep duration. Exposure to sunlight is an effective countermeasure for fatigue and drowsiness. Sun exposure has mental health benefits like improved mood, increased dopamine and serotonin, and a reduction in depressive symptoms. 

It also decreases the severity of seasonal affective disorder or depression caused by seasonal changes. It is important to note that all these benefits are linked to sun exposure and not to practicing sun gazing itself. People who have daily sun exposure over a period of 30 days will experience a decrease in depressive episodes.