American researchers recently discovered that sunlight exposure is the greatest weather-related factor for determining mental health. The more sunshine you get, the happier you are; the less sunshine you get, the sadder you are. Their research was recently published this month in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
The researchers, who work at Brigham Young University in Utah, compared daily environmental data from BYU’s weather station with emotional health data for over 16,000 therapy patients at the BYU Counseling and Psychological Services Center.
We tend to associate so-called gloomy weather (rain, overcast, smog) with sadness and depression, but the researchers found that these didn’t significantly correlate with participant scores on the distress measure. It seems sunshine (or the lack of it) plays a much bigger role in our mood than other weather-related phenomena.
Sunlight helps us produce serotonin, a hormone that boosts our mood, calms our mind, and helps us to focus. Darkness, on the other hand, helps us produce melatonin, which is the hormone that makes us sleepy and is critical to our getting a good night’s sleep.
Not only does sunlight help you increase serotonin, but the reverse is also true. The Mayo Clinic, an American nonprofit medical practice and medical research group, claims that a drop in serotonin might play a role in seasonal affective disorder, and “reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin that may trigger depression.”
So, this winter, with its short days and long nights, try to increase your sunlight exposure. Open the drapes at work, or sit close to a window at school. Go for a walk during your lunch break. Plus, getting outside can give you an extra boost, as exercise can increase mood, too.