Exposure to sunlight make you grow faster?

[GuanoLad]

Does exposure to sunlight make your hair or nails grow faster?

I ask this because normally I can go a certain length of time before needing my fingernails cut, maybe 3 to 4 weeks. But now that I'm in tropically sunny Australia, and the heat is rising here a lot sooner than it ever did back home in NZ (the temperature here today (mid spring) is about the same as the hottest it gets in mid-summer back home) I have had to cut my nails apparently more frequently, and it looks like my hair is growing visibly faster too.

Am I just making this up, or is it possible that the sunlight affects hair and nail growth?

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"Waheeey! 'Duck!' Get it?"
"Errr.... No..."
"Duck! Sounds almost exactly like fu-"

Maybe the fact that you are in a warm nice climate,you can laze around and not do too much,which will definitely make them not break at least.

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Nobody said things would be easy,and nobody was right-George Bush.

[Jebediah]

You get vitamin D from sunlight, which helps you process Calcium (that's why they add it to milk.) I don't know for sure what effect vitamin D has on hair and nails.

[neuro-trash grrrl]

I know that nails do grow faster in the summer than in the winter.

I also know that I drink a lot of milk, get a fair amount of sun, and have nails that are the envy of just about everyone I know.

These two bits of data don't really prove anything in and of themselves, but they may just be relevant.

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Modest? You bet I'm modest! I am the queen of modesty!

[Nickrz]

Sunlight does not affect nail growth, nor do the seasons.

[GuanoLad]

How do you know, Nickrz? What are the stats on this?



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"Waheeey! 'Duck!' Get it?"
"Errr.... No..."
"Duck! Sounds almost exactly like fu-"

[Zyada]

It's not the sunlight.

When you're hot, there is more blood flow to the skin, especially in the extremities. More blood flow allows more oxygen & nutrients to get to the hair & nail growth cells which translates to faster growth.

You'll get the same benefit from exercise.

[Nickrz]

I don't have any facts or stats, but that was my point. Neither does anyone else.

Hair and nails are dead tissue with no blood supply. I don't believe sunlight, ambient temperature or seasonal differences have any effect on their growth rate. I may be wrong, but nobody has offered any data supporting the contrary view.