Why This Year's Winter Blues Are Especially Hard-Hitting

Every year, the fresh Jan 1st start can bring a lot of good-intentioned motivation. New Year's resolutions can be so helpful in driving meaningful change, and I am so fortunate that I get to be a facilitator for many people when it comes to health and wellness goals. It is one of my favourite parts of this profession.

While we can really ride the wave of the "New Year, new me" momentum, we do face a different challenge up in our Canadian climate- the winter blues. It feels like an uphill battle, having ambitious goals for ourselves and when time comes to implement, just feeling like we lack motivation and drive to complete them.

A central theme when talking about mental health and mood this year is the lack of sunlight we have had here in the GTA. Not only are we experiencing short daylight hours of the season, but this winter has been one of the most cloudy we have experienced for years. The Weather Network has stated that we have had 3 sunny days in December and 5 in January. This is a record low of sunlight exposure, something so essential for our health.

The sun does two main things for mood. For one, Exposure to sunlight will get the body to naturally produce vitamin D. And we do not need a significant amount of sun exposure to get it (nor would I recommend prolonged exposure in any way). We need vitamin D for mood, bone health, and immunity.

The second, sneaky benefit we get from sun exposure is the impact ambient sunlight has on our brain. Being exposed to ambient sunlight (standing outside when it is sunny) increases neurotransmitter serotonin- the one responsible for feeling happy and calm. Being exposed to bright ambient sunlight also decreases the production of melatonin during the daytime, helping to keep us awake and happy longer when we are exposed to natural light.

So without the sun then, it is no mystery that we can expect to feel down, unmotivated, and more interested in sleep than exercise. Its dark when we wake up, and the sun is setting when we are driving home for dinner. We are working against our own biochemical wiring of what your body actually wants to do on gloomy, dark days.

Some strategies I suggest:

Maximize time spent outside during the day. Even if it is a 20 minute walk outside the office on lunch hour, it can have a significant impact on your workday energy and mood.

Get your vitamin D tested! Again, it is the most common deficiency I see across every patient category. Vitamin D deficiency does not discriminate. I use vitamin D testing on a near daily basis, and as an ND in the province of Ontario am also able to provide vitamin D injections depending on patient needs.

Try a sunlight alarm clock. While it doesn't really solve the problem, a sunlight alarm clock can be helpful in enforcing a morning routine for now. The clock starts gradually emitting light about 5-10 minutes before your alarm is set- meaning the light will wake you up before hearing (and maybe snoozing) the alarm.

The good news: we are now out of the darkest 8 weeks of the year. It literally only gets brighter from today!

Sources:

Cheng YC, Huang YC, Huang WL. The effect of vitamin D supplement on negative emotions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Depress Anxiety. 2020 Jun;37(6):549-564. doi: 10.1002/da.23025. Epub 2020 May 4. PMID: 32365423.

Kent ST, McClure LA, Crosson WL, Arnett DK, Wadley VG, Sathiakumar N. Effect of sunlight exposure on cognitive function among depressed and non-depressed participants: a REGARDS cross-sectional study. Environ Health. 2009 Jul 28;8:34. doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-8-34. PMID: 19638195; PMCID: PMC2728098.

Martens PJ, Gysemans C, Verstuyf A, Mathieu AC. Vitamin D's Effect on Immune Function. Nutrients. 2020 Apr 28;12(5):1248. doi: 10.3390/nu12051248. PMID: 32353972; PMCID: PMC7281985.