Are Tanning Beds Spitting Out Bronzed Junkies?

A new study finds that the brain patterns of frequent tanning bed users mimic that of addicts.

Image: iStockphoto

A new study that looked at the brain activity of frequent tanning salon visitors finds the ultraviolet radiation's impact on their brains mimics the patterns seen in drug addiction.

New research in an upcoming issue of the journal Addiction Biology details how the brain activity of frequent tanners lying in tanning beds has parallels to what researchers have seen in the brains of people who are addicted to drugs or in the throes of a sugar rush. Basically, the part of the brain that signals reward lights up immediately.

“What this shows is that the brain is in fact responding to UV light, and it responds in areas that are associated with reward,” Dr. Bryon Adinoff, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and an author of the study, told the New York Times in a report Thursday. "These are areas, particularly the striatum, that we see activated when someone is administered a drug or a high-value food like sugar.”

Researchers are puzzled about tanning bed use given the risks associated with UV exposure, including skin cancer and wrinkles. Nearly 28 million Americans tan indoors every year, including about two million teens, and more than one million visit tanning salons on an average day.

Tanning is also a big revenue maker. According to the Indoor Tanning Association, some 18,000 small businesses employ 120,000 people nationwide in what was estimated to be a $2.6 billion business in 2010.

Tanning salons have been on the hot seat before over health issues, and there are arguments on the other side of the tanning equation, including research that shows moderate use of sun beds has the same health benefits as exposure to the sun and that it improves vitamin D levels.

A Time writer who covers neuroscience points out that the study’s conclusion doesn’t prove anything. “For one thing, most people find food, sex, and alcohol fun—and their brains' pleasure regions light up as evidence—but never become addicted to any of those things. Enjoyment doesn't mean addiction.”

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