I’m a GP – seven signs the darker days are affecting your mental health

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Lack of enjoyment of things and activities that we used to like, or a persistent feeling of a lack of joy. The medical term for this is anhedonia, and it can sometimes creep up on…

How are you managing with the darker autumnal days? Even though we know they are coming, it can be quite a shock when the clocks go back – it feels like a real slog to get up in the morning in the gloom, and coming home from work in the dark can make everything feel harsher.

We live in a society where we are still able to carry on with our daily chores even if the days are shorter – but when we look at our natural physiology, this ability also works against us. We go against a natural pull to rest more, slow down and even fall into a human version of hibernation.

Although we often think that we can ignore natural rhythms, the impact of less natural light over autumn and winter on our mental and emotional well-being only goes to show that we can’t, and that we should pay heed to our physiology.

Natural light plays an essential role in regulating our mental health and emotional well-being. It does this in three main ways: through our hormones, through vitamin release and via our internal body clock.

First, natural daylight triggers the release of serotonin, which helps us to feel less anxious and boosts our mood, as well as lowering the release of melatonin (our sleep hormone) in the daytime and allowing it to rise at night, helping us to achieve a good amount of good-quality sleep.

Second, natural daylight allows our bodies to produce an active form of vitamin D in our skin, which also boosts energy and promotes good mood.

Third, we have an area in our brains called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is a collection of nerve cells that act as the master controller of our sleep-wake cycles – our 24-hour circadian rhythm. They respond to natural daylight hitting the back of our eyes and set off a chain of chemical messengers that control a whole host of functions in our bodies, from body temperature to blood pressure, from mood to our immune systems and sleep.

It is important to be aware of the signs that our mental health might be affected by the darker, shorter days – so…

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