A disorder known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has been found to be affected by the amount of sunlight received by a person. Thus, emphasising the importance of sunlight for health.
Individuals with SAD may experience emotional depression, a drop in physical energy, increased appetite, and increased need for sleep.This can be attributed to the complex inter relation between melatonin and serotonin.
Our mood is influenced by a complex web of relationships among sunlight, melatonin (the sleep hormone) and serotonin (the hormone associated with wakefulness and elevated mood). As darkness falls, our melatonin levels naturally increase. And as the morning light emerges, melatonin levels decrease, according to WebMD medical news.
Serotonin levels increase when we are exposed to bright light -- a major reason why moods tend to be more elevated during the summer. It is known that bright-light therapy can bring benefits to people with SAD because light affects the melatonin-serotonin system and elevates mood. In fact, some researchers are concluding that light therapy may help to alleviate SAD symptoms faster than antidepressant drugs.
In a review of clinical trials of light therapy, Dr. Daniel Kripke and his colleagues at the University of California, San Diego reported that light therapy benefits not only SAD patients but also people suffering from other forms of depression.
Therefore it is very important that we get an adequate amount of sunlight each day. Besides supplying us with our Vitamin D it elevates the mod as well.
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