Addicted to UV rays?

Frequent sunbathing could trigger the same chemical reaction as drug addiction, according to a recent study published in the journal Cell.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School concluded that basking in sunlight produces endorphins—which are also produced by drug use—and that experiments on mice showed repeated UV-ray exposure led to addiction in the animals, according to BBC News. Indeed, when the researchers gave the mice drugs to block opioids, they displayed symptoms of withdrawal such as shaking.

Previous studies, including one that found 1 in 3 college students who use tanning salons meet the definition of addiction, support the research team’s hypothesis.

However, the mice did not seek out UV rays the way a drug addict would, and other scientists are skeptical, including Dr. David Belin at the University of Cambridge.

“You would have people who lose their jobs because they spend their day on the beach,” he said.