Sungazing

Staring directly at the Sun

A man with his back to the camera stares directly at a twilight sun. — A man sungazing

Alternative medicine
This article is part of a series on

General information Alternative medicine History Terminology Alternative veterinary medicine Quackery (health fraud) Rise of modern medicine Pseudoscience Antiscience Skepticism Scientific Therapeutic nihilism
Fringe medicine and science Acupressure Acupuncture Alkaline diet Anthroposophic medicine Apitherapy Applied kinesiology Aromatherapy Association for Research and Enlightenment Auriculotherapy Bates method Biological terrain assessment Black salve Bodywork Bone-setting Bowen technique Breathwork Fake COVID-19 treatments Camel urine Cancer treatments Charcoal cleanse Chelation therapy Chiropractic Chiropractic treatment techniques Vertebral subluxation Christian Science Chromotherapy Colloidal silver Colon cleansing Coffee enema Colorpuncture Conversion therapy Craniosacral therapy Crystal healing Cupping therapy Dental amalgam controversy Detoxification Foot detox Dry needling Ear candling Energy medicine Correactology Esoteric energy Therapeutic touch Estrogen dominance Fabunan Antiviral Injection Facilitated communication FasciaBlaster Feldenkrais Method Functional medicine Hair analysis Herbal medicine Holistic dentistry Hologram bracelet Homeopathy Bach flower remedies Hydrotherapy Hypnotherapy Ionized jewelry Iridology Jilly Juice Lightning Process Lymphotherapy Magnet therapy Manual therapy Medical intuitive Megavitamin therapy Mesmerism Mind–body interventions MMS Myofascial release NAET Naturopathy Oil pulling Orgone Orthomolecular medicine Orthopathy Osteomyology Osteopathy Ozone therapy Parapsychology Phrenology Postural Integration Psychic surgery Psychodermatology Quantum healing Radionics Rapid prompting method Reflexology RBOP Reiki Rolfing Scientific racism ThetaHealing Thought Field Therapy Urophagia Vaginal steaming Vegetotherapy Vision therapy Vitalism Young blood transfusion Zero balancing
Conspiracy theories Big Pharma conspiracy theories HIV/AIDS denialism OPV AIDS hypothesis Anti-vaccinationism in chiropractic Vaccines and autism MMR vaccine and autism Water fluoridation controversy COVID-19 misinformation Turbo cancer
Classifications Alternative medical systems Mind–body intervention Biologically based therapy Manipulative methods Energy therapy
Traditional medicine African Muti Southern Africa Ayurveda Dosha MVAH Balneotherapy Brazilian Bush medicine Cambodian Chinese Blood stasis Chinese herbology Dit da Gua sha Gill plate trade Long gu Meridian Moxibustion Pressure point Qi San Jiao Tui na Zang-fu Chumash Curandero Faith healing Hilot Iranian Jamu Kayakalpa Kambo Japanese Korean Mien Shiang Mongolian Naftalan oil Prophetic medicine Shamanism Shiatsu Siddha Sri Lankan Thai massage Tibetan Unani Vietnamese
Diagnoses Adrenal fatigue Aerotoxic syndrome Candida hypersensitivity Chronic Lyme disease Electromagnetic hypersensitivity Heavy legs Leaky gut syndrome Multiple chemical sensitivity Wilson's temperature syndrome
v t e

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

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]

References

^ Liberatore, Paul (2009-09-30). "Mill Valley man's film on people who stare at the sun among featured at festival". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
^ Solomon, A S (2006). "Pterygium". British Journal of Ophthalmology. 90 (6): 665–6. doi:10.1136/bjo.2006.091413. PMC 1860212. PMID 16714259.
^ Neale, Rachel E.; Purdie, Jennifer L.; Hirst, Lawrence W.; Green, Adèle C. (2003). "Sun Exposure as a Risk Factor for Nuclear Cataract". Epidemiology. 14 (6): 707–12. doi:10.1097/01.ede.0000086881.84657.98. PMID 14569187. S2CID 40041207.
^ Stokkermans TJ, Dunbar MT (Oct 1998). "Solar retinopathy in a hospital-based primary care clinic". J Am Optom Assoc. 69 (10): 625–36. PMID 9805443.
^ D van Norren (October 1, 1991). "Photochemical Damage to the Eye". News Physiol Sci. 6 (6): 232–234. 1548-9213/91.
^ Chen JC, Lee LR (November 2004). "Solar retinopathy and associated optical coherence tomography findings" (PDF). Clin Exp Optom. 87 (6): 390–3. doi:10.1111/j.1444-0938.2004.tb03100.x. PMID 15575813.
^ Krasniz I, Beiran I, Miller B (1999-11-01). "Retinal lesion due to excessive exposure to sunlight". Harefuah. 137 (9): 378–80, 431, 430. PMID 11419039.
^ Chou, Brian (15 September 2004). "Exposing the Secrets of Fringe Eye Care". Review of Optometry. 141 (9). Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
^ Ridgway, A. E. (1967). "Solar retinopathy". BMJ. 3 (5559): 212–4. doi:10.1136/bmj.3.5559.212. PMC 1842517. PMID 6028468.

External links

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

v t e Naturopathy
Practices	Acupuncture Apitherapy Aromatherapy Balneotherapy Barefoot running Bates method Chelation therapy Chromotherapy Chiropractic Colon cleansing Ear candling Fasting Grape therapy Halotherapy Hydrotherapy Naturism Herbalism Homeopathy Iridology Mud bathing Nature therapy Oil pulling Ozone therapy Reflexology Reiki Rolfing Sungazing Urine therapy Yoga as therapy
Naturopaths	Otto Abramowski Bertrand P. Allinson Thomas Allinson R. F. E. Austin J. Ellis Barker Fereydoon Batmanghelidj Robert Bell Henry G. Bieler Friedrich Eduard Bilz Carlos Brandt Rudolf Breuss Haydn Brown James Burns Stanley Burroughs Otto Carque Paul Carton Thierry Casasnovas Eugene Christian John Christopher Hulda Regehr Clark Victor Dane Emmet Densmore Kurt Donsbach George J. Drews Gaston Durville Arnold Ehret August Engelhardt Emanuel Felke Jesse Mercer Gehman Theodor Hahn Gayelord Hauser Adolphus Hohensee J. Stenson Hooker Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland Archibald Hunter Adolf Just Hans Kalm Henry Valentine Knaggs Sebastian Kneipp Louis Kuhne Heinrich Lahmann Gordon Latto Eric Ledermann Elmer Lee Henry Lindlahr Benedict Lust Reddie Mallett Catherine Nimmo Ernest Nyssens Cyril V. Pink Vincenz Priessnitz Edward Earle Purinton Arnold Rikli J. P. Sandlands Edgar J. Saxon Gustav Schlickeysen Johann Schroth Ernst Schweninger Herbert M. Shelton John Henry Tilden Russell Thacher Trall Frank Newman Turner Alfred Vogel Ann Wigmore Robert O. Young Arno Wolle
Beliefs	Detoxification Germ theory denialism Holism Leaky gut syndrome Mucoid plaque Natural hygiene Vaccine hesitancy Vitalism
Critics	Kimball Atwood Stephen Barrett Barry Beyerstein Arthur J. Cramp David Gorski Martin Gardner Morris Fishbein Britt Marie Hermes Terence Hines Carl Malmberg Steven Novella Wallace Sampson
Related	Alternative medicine Pseudoscience Quackery
Category Commons