Niels Reiberg Finsen began using sunlight as a treatment for primarily two diseases: smallpox and tuberculosis of the skin (due to lack of Vitamin D). He also discovered that UV radiation benefited those who had been diagnosed with lupus vulgaris, a skin condition. As I mentioned, he ended up winning a Nobel Prize for his work in 1903, a year before he passed away. . Between him and Dr. Auguste Rollier, they found that heliotherapy can actually have an enormous amount of benefits, including: . Helping with acne, psoriasis, burns, eczema, and other skin disorders Regulating muscular stimulation and relaxation Improving Seasonal Affective Disorder Lowering high blood pressure Decreasing high cholesterol Lowering high blood sugar in diabetics Increases white blood cell counts Improved cardiac output Improved blood oxygen carrying capacity Reducing body odor Boosting the body’s immune system Boosts metabolism Reducing bacteria count by as much as 50% from infections Decontaminating blood transfusions Improving DNA repair Irradiating the blood of cancer patients Improving symptoms of hyperbilirubinemia (neonatal jaundice) Improved kidney function . By 1933, the two of them recorded over 165 different diseases that could benefit from sunlight exposure.