Doctor shares worrying life habit that ‘can be as bad for for you than smoking’

We all know that spending too much time indoors isn't good for multiple reasons, but one study has suggested that it could be even worse than we think.

Dr Roger Seheult, who appeared on The Diary Of A CEO, revealed that a Swedish study involving 29,518 women, over a 20-year period, found a possible link to sun exposure habits and mortality risk.

The women were put into three groups based on how much sunlight exposure they received - low, moderate or high exposure.

Dr Seheult explained: “They followed them for 20 years, and they kept track of each one that died and what they died of.”

He said researchers were 'astonished' by what they found, adding: “Those that spent the least amount of time outside had the highest levels' of mortality from cancer, cardiovascular disease and non-cardiovascular disease.”

While too much sun increases your risk of skin cancer, not getting enough sunlight may be linked to a higher risk of other internal cancers (Getty Stock Images)

The most striking finding, according to Dr Seheult, was: “Women who in Sweden who spent the most amount of time outside and smoked had the same mortality as those women that did not spend as much time outside and did not smoke. They were equal.”

The health expert, who is a board-certified physician in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, emphasised that the research does not provide definitive results.

“This is an association study. How can you get causation from association? You can’t,” he said.

Dr Seheult argued there are ways to strengthen the evidence, saying: “If you can show that as you increase the variable that there is a change in the output, that is strongly suggestive of potentially causation.”

He also warned that modern society may be increasingly detached from being outside.

Long-term smokers have up to a 15 to 20 percent chance of developing lung cancer, and up to a 66 percent chance of dying from a smoking-related disease (Getty Stock Images)

“The scurvy of the 21st century is the lack of sunlight,” Dr Seheult added.

“Everything is inside. We avoid the outside. We avoid discomfort. We avoid high temperatures. We avoid low temperatures.”

On his own routine, Dr Seheult said: “At lunch, I try to get outside as much as I possibly can into the sun for my 15 minutes.”

Even if you live in a cloudy climate, he insists that being outside for just a little amount of time is good enough for most people.

“Clouds because they are water molecules will absorb a lot of the infrared light,” he explained.

“The problem is that that's exactly the type of light that you want to get.

“However, even on a cloudy day, being outside, you're going to get more infrared light than if you were inside.”

How long should you stay in the sun?

The best-known benefit of sunlight is its ability to boost the body's vitamin D (Getty Stock Images)

To get the health benefits of the sun, 10 to 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure a day is typically all you need, according to Bupa GP Sonal Kumar.

"For people with darker skin, 25 to 40 minutes should be safe. But regardless of how much time you spend in the sun, it’s important to wear sun cream," Dr Kumar explains.

"Too much sun exposure can increase your risk of cancer, as well as damage your skin and eyes."

She added: "The effects of the sun vary from person to person, but anyone can get sunburnt. Your risk of burning depends on how sensitive your skin is, and the strength of UV radiation that day.

"The UV index is a helpful way of knowing how strong that day’s UV rays are. The higher the index number is, the higher the risk of sunburn."

As I'm sure you're aware, the UK saw its hottest May day on record, which could be broken again on Tuesday (26 May), with highs of 36C expected.