MORE: New Ways to Improve Wellbeing at Work Other autopsy studies found that people who died of non-psychiatric causes in the summer, when days are longer, tended to have higher levels of serotonin than people who died in the winter when sunlight is scarce. That effect remained no matter how cold or hot the weather was. ![]() One Australian study that measured levels of brain chemicals flowing directly out of the brain found that people had higher serotonin levels on bright sunny days than on cloudy ones. (Many antidepressants work by boosting levels of serotonin among brain neurons.) Studies generally focus on the brain chemical that’s most directly linked to mood, serotonin: higher levels of serotonin correlate with better mood and feelings of satisfaction and calmness, and lower levels link to depression and anxiety. The strongest support for the role of sunlight in health, however, comes from its effect on mood. Scientists treating mice who received skin transplants found that zapping the transplanted cells with UV light eliminated the group of cells most responsible for triggering rejection reactions. Other work found that the dreaded risk of rejection of transplanted bone marrow cells might also be avoided with the help of light - in this case, ultraviolet light. MORE: You Asked: Is It Bad to Be Inside All Day? More research here is needed, but that could be important for the timing of bone marrow transplants for cancer patients, and hitting the transplant at just the right time of the light cycle may improve the chances of harvesting enough cells from donors. Some studies also suggest that the light cycle may regulate the production of blood stem cells from the bone marrow. That could potentially lead to more mutated cells that can trigger cancer. Studies in shift workers found that less melatonin may also lead to lower levels of important chemicals the body uses to repair DNA. In winter months when the days are shorter, melatonin levels may peak earlier or later in the day, which can lead to some of the mood changes linked to SAD. As more light creeps in during the morning, the levels of the hormone start dropping again. Normally, people produce more melatonin toward the evening, as the body gets ready for sleep. There is also intriguing evidence finding that people who work at night and don’t get exposed to daylight may produce less melatonin, a hormone that is dependent on light. People who consistently work night shifts, for example, tend to be heavier than people who don’t. That can have domino effects on nearly everything: how we break down energy from food, how strong our immune systems are and the vast array of brain chemicals and other substances that contribute to mood, weight, energy and more. ![]() Messing up the normal light and dark cycles by sleeping during the day and being awake at night, under artificial light, can disrupt the body’s metabolism. ![]() Studies of shift workers also support the possible role that exposure to sunlight has on mood. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered.
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