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Sungazing is the unsafe practice of looking directly at the Sun. It is sometimes done as part of a spiritual or religious practice, most often near dawn or dusk.^[1] The human eye is very sensitive, and exposure to direct sunlight can lead to solar retinopathy, pterygium,^[2] cataracts,^[3] and potentially blindness.^[4][5][6] Studies have shown that even when viewing a solar eclipse the eye can still be exposed to harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation.^[7]

Movements[edit]

Referred to as sunning by William Horatio Bates as one of a series of exercises included in his Bates method, it became a popular form of alternative therapy in the early 20th century.^[8] His methods were widely debated at the time but ultimately discredited for lack of scientific rigor. The British Medical Journal reported in 1967 that "Bates (1920) advocated prolonged sun-gazing as the treatment of myopia, with disastrous results".^[9]

See also[edit]

• Inedia (breatharianism)
• Joseph Plateau

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• San Diego State University Dept. of Astronomy information on solar observation safety