Although the brutal summer heat may have kept many indoors, now is the perfect time to boost your vitamin D levels by soaking up some sunshine every day.
As summer gives way to fall and winter, many healthy people may start to feel more tired, foggy headed, have trouble sleeping or experience body aches. These symptoms are often connected to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which can result from getting less sunlight and a drop in vitamin D absorption.
Are you getting enough vitamin D?
A deficiency in this vital nutrient can contribute to SAD, a common mental health issue that affects millions of Americans each year, with symptoms lasting up to five months. If you experience mood changes like hopelessness, loss of interest in enjoyable activities, irritability, feelings of worthlessness and difficulty concentrating starting in late fall or early winter and improving in spring and summer, you may be dealing with SAD. To address these challenges, it’s crucial to make certain lifestyle changes, especially during the darker months.
Want to lift your mood?
Good news is that winter doesn’t have to be a difficult time. The National Library of Medicine highlights a designed to enhance well-being and combat affective mood disorders such as SAD. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Get moving - Take a brisk 20-minute walk outdoors five days a week.
- Soak up the sun - Increase your exposure to natural light but be sure to protect your skin with sunscreen. There is little evidence to suggest that the use of sunscreen interferes with vitamin D production in our skin.
- Vitamin boost - Take a regimen comprising complex B vitamins, selenium and vitamin D.
In a study involving women aged 19 to 78 with mild to moderate depression, those who followed this intervention reported notable improvements in mood, self-esteem, happiness and overall well-being compared to a control group taking placebo vitamins.
Who is at risk of vitamin D deficiency?
Certain groups are more vulnerable to deficiency:
- The elderly and most people who often spend more time indoors.
- People living above the 37th parallel north, including parts of southern Nevada, receive less direct sunlight throughout the year.
- People with darker skin require more sunlight to produce the same amount of vitamin D as those with lighter skin.
- People who wear clothing that covers most of their body for cultural or religious reasons.
- Our showed that pregnant women were more likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency due to increased nutritional needs. A include adolescent girls, new mothers and young children as most vulnerable.
Boosting your vitamin D: sunlight and smart food choices
While certain foods can give you a vitamin D boost, nothing beats sunlight for raising your levels naturally. For dietary sources, think delicious options such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, mushrooms and egg yolks. Fortified cereals, juices and dairy products can help too, but watch out for processed options that might be high in sugar or fat.
About the author
Angeline Jeyakumar is the public health nutrition specialist for and an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources. Her research focuses on food insecurity, and chronic illness mitigation in underserved communities. In her current Fab-Fiber project, she has developed a nutrition education module to improve fiber intake among populations. For questions related to Angeline’s work on nutrition, epidemiology and chronic diseases, email or call her at 775-336-0275.
