Daily HealthBeat Tip

Craving a tan

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Maybe tanning is more than looks. A small study indicates ultraviolet light, which makes people tan, also affects the brain.

Dr. Mandeep Kaur of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center focused on people who tanned eight to 15 times a month. At each session, tanners were given a placebo or a drug that blocks feel-good brain chemicals known as endorphins.

Her work, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health, was in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Kaur says tanners with their feel-good chemicals blocked felt less good about tanning:

"There was a reduced preference for UV light, whereas the frequent tanners on placebo still preferred the ultraviolet light." (eight seconds)

Kaur says people who tan may feel good but still need to watch out for getting skin cancer.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 12, 2006

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