A tanning bed is an indoor machine that produces ultraviolet light. When a person lays in a tanning bed, the ultraviolet light works to give the person a tan in less time than it would take to achieve the same tan while lying in the sun. However, tanning beds also are associated with adverse health effects, such as an increased incidence of skin cancer.
History
Tanning lamps have been used since the early 1900s as a means to increase vitamin D production in the body in those who were ill. Actual tanning-bed technology was first invented in the 1970s when German scientist Friedrich Wolff was performing scientific experiments on the advantages of ultraviolet lights and discovered they gave the user a tanned appearance. Today, indoor tanning is used all over the world.
How It Works
A tanning bed emits ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B lights, which mimic the sun's light. Exposure to this light stimulates melanin production in the skin, which in turn gives the skin a tanned appearance. Also, because the lights are close to a person's skin, the tan is more quickly developed than if a person were out in the sun. Like the sun, a tanning bed can cause sunburn.
Safety
Tanning beds have been linked to a number of dangers to a person's health, including a heightened risk of skin cancer. According to MSNBC.com, a person's skin cancer risk rises by 75 percent if a person uses a tanning bed before age 30. The ultraviolet radiation is linked with causing mutations in a person's cells, which can cause uncontrolled growth.
Benefits
In addition to the desired tan appearance a person experiences from a tanning bed, a benefit of tanning beds is that exposure to ultraviolet light encourages the body to produce vitamin D. Also known as the "sunshine vitamin," vitamin D is necessary for a variety of functions, such as helping the body absorb calcium. While only a limited amount of sun exposure is required in order to experience vitamin D benefits, using a tanning bed can boost this vitamin.
UVA and UVB Light
A tanning bed contains varying levels of UVA and UVB light, which have been shown to affect the skin in different ways. For example, tanning bed light emits 95 percent UVA rays. This light form has been linked to causing advanced photoaging, such as wrinkling and age spots. The remaining 5 percent is UVB radiation, which is a shorter wavelength light beam that has been linked to causing skin cancer.
