Awnings and Pergolas to beat the sunburn

Awnings and Pergolas to beat the sunburn

When the weather warms up, we all like to head for the garden to bask in the glorious sunshine. After a long and miserably cold winter, we feel that our bodies are crying out for a good dose of vitamin D and the sunshine has a wonderful ability to lift the mood in many people. In fact, some people suffer from a condition known as Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Although there are several methods in place to treat this disorder, light therapy is a known favourite.

What is SAD?

Seasonal affected disorder appears to be most common during the winter months when there is a deficit of daylight. This condition can result in a persistent low mood, a loss of interest in normal everyday activities, irritability, feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness, low energy levels and increased desire to sleep during the day. It may also cause sufferers to sleep for longer than normal and find it hard to get up in the morning. All the above can cause weight gain and impact on concentration, making tasks such as driving and working difficult or even dangerous.

For some people, these symptoms can be severe and have a significant impact on their day-to-day activities.

Light therapy for SAD

Some people with SAD find that light therapy can help improve their mood considerably. This involves sitting by a special lamp called a light box, usually for around 30 minutes to an hour each morning.

Light boxes come in a variety of designs, including desk lamps and wall-mounted fixtures. They produce a very bright light. The intensity of the light is measured in lux, so the higher lux, the brighter the light.

The light produced by the light box simulates the sunlight that’s missing during the darker winter months.

It’s thought the light may improve SAD by encouraging your brain to reduce the production of melatonin, which is a hormone that makes you sleepy and increase the production of serotonin, which is a hormone that affects your mood.

Sunrise alarm clocks, which gradually light up your bedroom as you wake up, may also be useful for some people.

So, as you can see, sunlight plays an important part in our lives, and in some, it can literally be a life changer. However, as lovely as it is to sit and relax in the sun and as much as it can lift our mood, the dangers of exposure to the sun can be far more damaging than conditions such as SAD.

A well-placed pergola or awning can allow you to enjoy your outdoor area, get the extra health beneficial light you crave, but protect you from the harmful effects of the sun.

Effects of the sun on our skin

As stated previously, getting too little sun, especially during the winter months, can leave some people prone to a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder. Sunlight also helps our skin make vitamin D, which is needed for normal bone function and health. But this exposure to direct sunlight can also cause damage to our skin.

Too much exposure to UVB sun rays can lead to sunburn. Sunburn is painful, can lead to sleepless nights and eventually a blotchy complexion caused by the burnt skin peeling away to reveal new skin beneath the damaged layer.

UVA rays can travel more deeply into the skin than UVB rays, but both can affect your skin’s health. When UV rays enter skin cells, they upset delicate processes that affect the skin’s growth and appearance.

Over time, exposure to these rays can make the skin less elastic. Skin may even become thickened and leathery, wrinkled, or thinned like tissue paper. The more sun exposure you have, the younger you’ll be when your skin ages.

Although sunburnt skin can repair itself by the peeling process, long-term damage to your skin can remain and return to haunt us later in life. Therefore, an awning or pergola is such an important addition to any garden, as no amount of sunscreen will block all the damaging rays of the sun.

As you get older, it becomes harder for skin to repair itself. Over time, UV damage can take a toll on your skin and its underlying connective tissue. As a result, your skin may develop more wrinkles and lines.

Too much sun exposure can also raise your risk for skin cancer. When UV light enters skin cells, it can harm the DNA within.

DNA damage can cause changes to cells that make them rapidly grow and divide. This growth can lead to clumps of extra cells called a tumour, or lesion. These can often become cancerous, referred to as malignant, although some may be harmless, referred to as benign.

Skin cancer may first appear as a small spot on the skin. Some cancers reach deep into surrounding tissue. They may also spread from the skin to other organs of the body.

How much sun do we need?

We all seem to be aware of the sun as a source of vitamin D, but it takes very little time in the sun to get the requisite amount that our bodies need. Approximately ten to fifteen minutes of exposure a day to the backs of your hands, arms, and face will give you enough vitamin D. Also, let’s not forget that you can also get vitamin D from foods or dietary supplements.

Sitting for hours in the garden in direct sun is clearly unnecessary for vitamin D production and the long-term damage to the skin can be quite devastating, but you don’t have to sit in a darkened room to keep safe either.

A pergola or awning to stay safe in the summer

As the sun is most damaging when we are directly exposed to it, an effective method of blocking or filtering it out is needed to stay safe, while still enjoying the warmth and fresh air of the summer months.

A pergola or awning will make your time in the garden far more comfortable, enjoyable and safe. An awning will effectively block out all the damaging rays from the sun, whereas a pergola can be quite useful for filtering or directing the direct light from the sun. The pergolas effectiveness can be further enhanced by encouraging climbing plants to creep up and over them, creating a wonderfully dappled shade, while also encouraging more wildlife to your garden.

The pergola covered in a climbing plant will give refuge to many insects that can be beneficial to the garden as a whole and become a welcome source of food for the local bird life.

A pergola may also be capped with a solid top that can filter or even block the harmful rays of direct sunlight.

An awning is even more effective at stopping the sun from causing sunburn or skin damage, as they form a far better defence than the pergola, owing to their canopy.

The versatility of the awning

One of the great things about an awning is that they can be retracted during the winter or inclement weather. They retract into a very small footprint on the wall to which they are fitted. This ability saves the fabric canopy and the operating mechanism from wearing out prematurely, as they are only fully open during the warmer weather and often, only when in use.

Awnings are quick and easy to open and close. Some have a manual opening mechanism, whereas others have an electric operation, possibly with Bluetooth connectivity for lighting and music too. Most importantly though, an awning will protect you, your family and friends from the harmful effects of the sun. In short, an awning is an excellent method of sun protection.

Awnings and pergolas not only keep us comfortable and safe from the sun, but they also protect our four-legged friends in much the same way. Our pets love to lay out in the sun but can overheat rapidly. Many dogs do not appear to possess the sense to move somewhere with more shade and can become sick due to over exposure of the sun. A strategically placed pergola, or an awning fitted over the family outdoor seating area can be a life saver for them. They will love lounging around in the dappled shade of the pergola, or the cooler shade of an awning.

So, if you want to carry on enjoying the great outdoors, but don’t want to suffer from sunburn or worse, consider getting a pergola or an awning. You will find that you will be spending far longer outside in the fresh air, your mood will be lifted, and your property will look amazing too.

Our clients have also stated that their summers seem to last so much longer since they had their pergolas or awnings fitted. This is simply because they find themselves spending more time in the garden than they ever did before the awning or pergola was fitted.