Welcome to another edition of Pelotan Performance Insights! This week, we're delving into how UV exposure and sunburn can impact recovery in athletes, and the steps you can take to mitigate these effects, both before and after time in the sun…

The Impact of UV Exposure on Athletic Recovery

Aside from the impacts on performance that we've explored in previous instalments, prolonged UV exposure and sunburn can significantly impede recovery, affecting overall athletic performance. Here’s how:

1. Inflammation and Pain. Sunburn causes inflammation of the skin, leading to pain, redness, and swelling. This inflammatory response can extend to muscles and joints, exacerbating post-exercise soreness and delaying recovery. What's more, the pain associated with sunburn can distract athletes, reduce their quality of rest, and impede sleep, all of which are essential for effective recovery.
2. Energy Diversion for Skin Repair. When the skin is sunburned, the body prioritizes repairing the damaged skin. This diverts energy and resources away from muscle recovery.
• Healing Priorities: The body’s natural response to sunburn is to initiate a repair process that requires significant metabolic energy. This can lead to less energy being available for muscle recovery, resulting in prolonged muscle soreness and fatigue.
• Recovery Impact: A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology indicated that skin repair processes can compete with muscle recovery for nutrients and energy, leading to slower overall recovery for athletes.

3. Oxidative Stress. UV exposure increases the production of free radicals, leading to oxidative stress. This oxidative damage can impair muscle recovery and function.
   • Study Insight: Research published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine found that oxidative stress from UV exposure can slow down muscle repair processes, prolonging recovery time.
4. Immune System Suppression: UV radiation can suppress the immune system, making athletes more susceptible to infections and illnesses. A weakened immune system can delay recovery from workouts and injuries.
   • Research Data: A study in the British Journal of Dermatology highlighted that UV exposure suppresses skin immune responses, which can extend to systemic immune suppression.

How Pelotan Can Aid Recovery

Essentially this is divided into two areas: prevention / mitigation and repair / recovery. Let’s focus for now on the first area, and how Pelotan’s range of sports-focused UV protection can play a huge part in recovery for athletes.

1. Reducing Inflammation and Pain. By effectively blocking harmful UV rays during intense exercise, Pelotan prevents sunburn, thereby reducing inflammation and pain. This helps athletes maintain comfort and mobility, aiding quicker recovery.
2. Optimizing Resource Allocation. By preventing sunburn, Pelotan ensures that the body does not have to divert energy and resources towards extensive skin repair. This allows more resources to be available for muscle recovery and overall performance improvement.
3. Mitigating Oxidative Stress. Pelotan’s formulation helps to mitigate free radicals, reducing oxidative stress and encouraging the body to focus on muscle repair.
4. Supporting Immune Function. Pelotan shields the skin from UV-induced immune suppression, helping maintain robust immune function and aiding in faster recovery from physical exertion. Research from the American Journal of Sports Medicine showed that athletes who used sunscreen regularly had fewer incidences of skin infections and faster recovery rates.

Since our launch in 2018 we have been entirely focused on protection from the sun, which we believe is the most important way to ensure optimal performance for athletes in sunny conditions. However, over the past 18 months we have been exploring how we can incorporate repair and recovery into the mix to offer a more holistic approach to how athletes manage sun exposure. Next week, we close that loop ♾️