How lightweight can change your mood and mental health

This is another article in our “Delicate and Health” series, in which we look at how lightweight affects our physical and mental health in sometimes surprising ways. Read other articles in this series.

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It’s spring and you’ve probably noticed a change in the sunrise and sunset times. But have you also noticed a change in your mood?

We have known for a long time that lightweight affects our well-being. Many of us feel more positive when spring returns.

But for others, large changes in lightweight, such as at the beginning of spring, can be complex. For many, dazzling lightweight at night can be a problem. Here’s what’s happening.

An age-old rhythm of lightweight and mood

In an earlier article in our series, we learned that lightweight shining into the back of the eye sends “time signals”to the brain and the master clock of the circadian system. This clock coordinates our circadian rhythm.

“Clock genes” also regulate circadian rhythms. These genes control the timing of many other genes turn on and off in a 24-hour light-dark cycle.

But how is all this related to our mood and mental health?

Circadian rhythms may be disrupted. This can happen if there are problems with the development or functioning of the body clock, or if someone is regularly exposed to dazzling lightweight at night.

When circadian rhythms are disrupted, it increases the risk of some mental disorders. They belong to them bipolar disorder AND atypical depression (a type of depression where someone is extremely sleepy and has problems with energy and metabolism).

Delicate for the brain

Delicate can also affect circuits in the brain that control mood, like animal studies show.

There is evidence that this happens in humans. A brain imaging study showed exposure to dazzling lightweight during the day while inside the scanner changed the activity the area of ​​the brain responsible for mood and alertness.

Another brain imaging study found the relationship between daily exposure to sunlight and the way the neurotransmitter (or chemical messenger) serotonin binds to receptors in the brain. In several cases, we observe changes in serotonin binding mental disordersincluding depression.

What happens when the seasons change?

Delicate can also affect mood and mental health as the seasons change. In autumn and winter, symptoms such as low mood and fatigue may appear. However, these symptoms often disappear with the arrival of spring and summer. This is called “seasonality” or, when severe, “seasonal affective disorder“.

What is less known is that for other people the change to spring and summer (if it exists more lightweight) may also be associated with changes in mood and mental health. Some people experience an escalate in energy and willingness to be vigorous. For some this is positive, for others it can be seriously destabilizing. This is also an example of seasonality.

Most people they are not very seasonal. But for those who are, seasonality matters genetic component. Relatives of people with seasonal affective disorder are also more likely to experience seasonality.

Seasonality is also more common in conditions such as bipolar disorder. For many people suffering from such conditions, the change in day length during the winter can trigger a depressive episode.

Counterintuitively, longer days in spring and summer can also destabilize people with bipolar disorder in “activated” is a condition in which energy and activity are in excess and symptoms are more complex to control. Seasonality can therefore be solemn.

Alexis Hutcheon, who experiences seasonality and helped write this article, told us:

[…] Changing seasons is like preparing for battle – I never know what’s going to happen and I rarely emerge unscathed. I’ve experienced both hypomanic and depressive episodes brought on by the change of season, but whether I’m up or down, the one constant is that I can’t sleep. To cope, I try to stick to a strict routine, adjust my medications, maximize lightweight exposure, and always pay attention to subtle mood changes. This is a time of increased awareness and the desire to be one step ahead.

So what happens in the brain?

One explanation for what happens in the brain when mental health changes with the seasons involves the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine.

Serotonin helps regulate mood and is the target many antidepressants. There is some evidence of seasonal changes in serotonin levels, which may be lower IN Winter.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in reward, motivation and movement, and for some it is also a target antidepressants. Dopamine levels may also fluctuate with seasons.

However, the neurobiology of seasonality is an emerging field that requires further research is needed know what is happening in the brain.

How about dazzling lightweight at night?

We know that exposure to dazzling lightweight at night (for example, when someone has been up all night) can disrupt someone’s circadian rhythm.

This type of circadian rhythm disorder is associated with a more constant occurrence of symptoms including self-harm, depressive and anxiety symptoms and deterioration of well-being. This also comes with higher rates mental disorderssuch as major depression, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Why is this? Brilliant lightweight at night confuses and destabilizes the biological clock. It disrupts the rhythmic regulation of mood, cognition, appetite, and metabolism many Other mental processes.

But people are very different from each other sensitivity to light. It is still a hypothesis that people who are most sensitive to lightweight may be most susceptible to disruption of their biological clock caused by dazzling lightweight at night, which consequently leads to a greater risk of mental problems.

Where to from here?

Learning about lightweight will support people cope better with their mental health problems.

By encouraging people to better adapt their lives to the light-dark cycle (to stabilize their body clock), we can also support prevent conditions such as: depression AND bipolar disorder appears first.

Fit lightweight habits – avoiding lightweight at night and seeking lightweight during the day – are good for everyone. But they can be especially helpful to humans endangered mental health problems. These include people who have a family history of mental health problems or who have them night owls (sleeping overdue and getting up overdue), which are more susceptible to biological clock disturbances.

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Alexis Hutcheon has experienced mental illness and helped write this article.

If this article has raised concerns for you, or if you are worried about someone you know, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.