Is the ’sunshine cure’ a real thing? - CrowdScience, BBC World Service podcast

CrowdScience investigates the conflicting scientific evidence around warm weather and wellbeing. Subscribe - Imagine spending six months of every year living in total shade. That’s what life is like for residents of the Norwegian town of Rjukan, set so low in a valley that they see no direct sunshine at all from October to March. Marnie Chesterton heads there to hear about an ingenious solution: giant mirrors that beam rays down into the town square, where locals gather to feel the reflected heat. The man behind the project was motivated by a need for winter sun, but how much difference does it really make to our health and happiness? That’s the question posed by this week’s CrowdScience listener Michael, who has noticed living in the rainy Australian city of Melbourne is taking its toll. Many pensioners claim sunshine relieves aches and pains, as well as conditions like arthritis, but one of the biggest scientific studies found temperature