Posted by andrewb on August 10, 1999, at 16:59:46
Title
Vitamin D3 enhances mood in healthy subjects during winter.
Author
Lansdowne AT; Provost SC
Address
Department of Psychology, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW, Australia.
Source
Psychopharmacology (Berl), 135(4):319-23 1998 Feb
Abstract
Mood changes synchronised to the seasons exist on a continuum between individuals, with anxiety and depression increasing during the
winter months. An extreme form of seasonality is manifested as the clinical syndrome of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) with
carbohydrate craving, hypersomnia, lethargy, and changes in circadian rhythms also evident. It has been suggested that seasonality and
the symptoms of SAD may be due to changing levels of vitamin D3, the hormone of sunlight, leading to changes in brain serotonin.
Forty-four healthy subjects were given 400 IU, 800 IU, or no vitamin D3 for 5 days during late winter in a random double-blind
study. Results on a self-report measure showed that vitamin D3 significantly enhanced positive affect and there was some evidence of
a reduction in negative affect. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for seasonality, SAD, serotonin, food preference,
sleep, and circadian rhythms.
poster:andrewb
thread:9870
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990726/msgs/9870.html