It’s that time of year!

As the sun dips below the horizon earlier and earlier every day now we seem to start hibernating habits.  We stay inside because of the cold and eat more, because of stress that comes with school and…what else is there to do.  People even begin symptoms of depression over the fall and winter months.

All I have to say is GO FOR A WALK!

Any day that is remotely sunny I will try and spend as much time outside even if it’s freezing.  I can feel my mood instantly improve on my 20 minute walk to school.

The reason for the change of mood and behavior is directly correlated to the amount of sunlight we get.

We have a hormone in our bodies called serotonin.  What it does is affects our mood because it’s a neurotransmitter.  Sunlight helps create it.  So when summer  to exist, we aren’t spending as much time outdoors and there isn’t as much sunlight, thus lowering our serotonin levels.

We have another hormone called melatonin.  This is the hormone that tells us when it’s time to sleep.  Sunlight reduces the effects of melatonin, but when the sun goes down melatonin levels raise and it makes us sleepy.  This is usually helpful but when all of a sudden we lose sunlight we feel groggy more often.

So get out there and get some sun!

Mayo Clinic does a great job describing this process through Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  You probably don’t have SAD but the process and symptoms are similar.