Get outside; natural sunlight helps your body produce vitamin D and offers a slew of health benefits.

Previous studies have linked sunshine to better moods, improved bone health, and reduced risk of cancer.

Read: Seasonal Affective Disorder: Happiness Is Actually Linked To Sunshine, Study Finds

A new study from researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center has identified another powerful benefit of getting some sun. The team found that sunlight energizes T cells, which improve your body’s immunity and ability to fight off infection.

Specifically, the research team found that low levels of blue light makes T cells move faster, Medical XPress reported. Blue light is found in sun rays.

You’ve probably heard that sunlight allows us to make vitamin D, which is true, but producing T cells in the body is actually a separate mechanism. According to the study's senior investigator, Gerard Ahern, PhD, some immunity functions that scientists thought were attributed to vitamin D could actually be a result of this newly-discovered phenomenon.

A 2008 study reported that a 30-minute period in sunlight while wearing a swimsuit greatly increased levels of vitamin D, which promotes better bone health.

Read: Sunshine Could Be Therapy For Schizophrenia And Depression Patients

Additionally, higher levels of vitamin D in the blood is associated with a reduced risk of cancer, Medical Daily previously reported.

A recent UC San Diego School of Medicine study found that women over the age of 55 whose 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood concentrations were 40 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) or higher showed a 67 percent lower risk of cancer than those with levels of 20 ng/ml or less.

Source: Phan TX, Jaruga B, Pingle SC, Bandyopadhyay BC, Ahern GP. Intrinsic Photosensitivity Enhances Motility of T Lymphocytes. Scientific Reports. 2016.

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