Few things are as relaxing as spending a day outdoors. The warmth of the sun, the cooling breeze, and the fresh air easily recharge your batteries and put you in a better mood. You should remember, however, that there are hazards to being outdoors. One of those hazards is the sunlight.

You may be wondering how sunlight can be hazardous. After-all, it gives us light, warmth, it helps plants grow and it even generates power. How could something so helpful be bad for you? Sunlight is hazardous simply due to the fact that sunlight contains ultraviolet rays. Ultraviolet rays, also known as UV rays, contain ultraviolet radiation. When the human body is exposed to UV rays for too long, they can suffer sunburns, damaged eyes, and UV radiation has even been strongly linked to skin cancer. If you plan to spend extended periods of time outdoors, you should always properly prepare yourself for prolonged exposure to sunlight. Even cloudy days and winter aren’t exempt from sunlight’s dangers, so remember to shield yourself even when you think you don’t need to.

Shielding yourself from the sun all time may seem like a big hassle, though. Are you supposed to carry around a bottle of sunscreen with you whenever you go outside? Hardly anyone enjoys the greasy feeling of sunscreen on their bodies at the beach, where you have the ocean waters to negate that feeling, let alone just walking around outside. You don’t need to go quite so far as to bring sunscreen with you everywhere you go. In fact, most regular clothing protects you from UV rays to some degree. You may notice this effect when you get a tan or when you get sunburned and notice the tan line. However, regular clothing may not be good enough for people with very sensitive skin or children and some people without sensitive skin may want more protection from the sun’s rays. That’s where sun protective clothing comes in.

Sun protective clothing is clothing that is specially designed to block UV rays. They are made of fabrics that are protective against of UV rays. The threads are woven together more tightly than most regular clothing to keep the sunlight from leaking in and the clothing is usually heavily dyed in dye that has been rated as being protective against UV rays. In addition, some sun protective garments may be treated with special chemicals to increase its protection against UV rays.

Sun protective clothing is rated using a system called UPF which stands for Ultraviolet protection factor. The higher the rating, the better it is at protecting the wearer from UV rays. The rating system goes from 15 to 50, with 15 being the minimum rating an article can be given to be labeled as UV protective and anything 50 and over being the best available.

Don’t worry about spending hours specifically searching for sun protective clothing, either. This type of clothing is available in all shapes, sizes and styles and is readily available in many stores, especially during the summertime. Anything from swimsuits to dresses to pants and shirts, including formal clothing, are available as sun protective clothing. Not only do you not have to worry about searching for hours on end for this type of clothing, but you can also easily find sun protective garments in many different styles and colors, so you don’t have to sacrifice style for protection.

Enjoying yourself out in the sunlight can be fun, but remember to dress for the occasion and shield your body from those harmful UV rays.

Damian is part time blogger and online enthusiast. He contributes on many blogs, including one dedicated to rashies, which is considered as one of the best Australian swimwear websites. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to write for us?