Does Sunshine Make You Tired?

Going out in the sunlight and playing is tiring, but what makes you tired? The actual physical activity that you have undertaken or the fact that the sun zapped your energy? Sometimes the mere act of being outdoors on a really sunny day is enough to make you exhausted and get a headache. So how does this work?

The body needs to exert extra energy when you are out in the sun to ensure that you do not overheat. This involves the physical process of sweating to cool you off. As you lose fluids you get dehydrated and eventually this leads to a certain degree of lethargy where you don’t feel like doing anything.

The best way to deal with this reaction to being in the sun is to ensure that you get to drink a whole lot of water to replace the body fluids that you are losing through sweating. If the body does not have to work too hard to maintain an optimal temperature, you will not feel quite as tired when you are out having fun in the sun.

As a science project, you could consider drinking varying amounts of water and checking to see what your body temperature is like on a sunny day. This will give you a good idea of how much water you need to drink to stay hydrated and active when out in the sun.