The Healing Centre

The Winter Blues

Many people feel lethargic, fatigued, and moody during the cold, winter months. Some write off these signs and behaviors as just feeling down. Since many don’t believe they need to do anything about it, they don’t take proper care of themselves.

As the weather changes, and your normal routine is thrown out of whack by the time change, your brain’s serotonin activity can decrease. As the brain neurotransmitter that plays a major role in outlook, the lowering of serotonin activity often is linked to low mood. Also, since serotonin is the starting molecule for the brain’s pineal gland to produce melatonin, our main sleep hormone, changes in serotonin activity can rob us of quality sleep.

Though falling back gives us an extra hour of sleep, the tradeoff is that the darker months can negatively affect our mood and sleep patterns. With less sunlight, it becomes increasingly important to get adequate levels of vitamin D during the winter months.

Increase Your Vitamin D During the Winter

Vitamin D, also referred to as the “sunshine vitamin,” is now known to be crucial for the brain’s functioning and maintenance. After it’s made in the skin as vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), it becomes converted, first by the liver then by the kidneys, into a powerful hormone that regulates not only the brain but the heart, circulation, gut, liver, pancreas, immune system, and practically all our tissues. Among its many benefits, vitamin D3 promotes the actions of serotonin, dopamine, and other key brain neurotransmitters.

Unfortunately, many Americans – even those who eat a good diet – are functionally vitamin D deficient. Though definitions of vitamin D deficiency can vary, experts agree that it has nearly reached epidemic status: one research study found that in the U.S., 70% of all adults and 67% of children, aged 1-11, don’t have adequate levels of vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with illness in winter, when the skin gets less sunshine and makes less vitamin D. In fact, there is research linking vitamin D deficiency to over 200 health concerns. Among these is that low levels of vitamin D have been associated with mood challenges and difficulties with sociability, attention, memory, stress and anxiousness.

If you’re concerned that you or a family member aren’t getting enough vitamin D, you should consider supplementation.

Vitamin D3 5000 IU

BrainMD’s Vitamin D3 5000 provides sufficient vitamin D3 to raise your tissue levels into a healthy range within a short time period, while being completely safe to take long-term. Clinical research has established that taking this safe dose of vitamin D3 daily works better than taking high doses every few weeks or getting a very high dose by injection.

Intensive clinical and scientific research continues to make incredible discoveries about this vitamin – hormone. Vitamin D3 is clearly established as having powerful and extremely versatile effects on health and well-being. In the past two decades, researchers have confirmed its favorable effects on healthy gene regulation, calcium metabolism, cell growth control, hormone balance, and coping with stressful challenges. Vitamin D3 promotes:

• healthy mood

• immune response

• cognitive function

• cardiovascular health

• muscle and bone strength

• overall brain health

The current U.S. Daily Value recommendation is 400 IU, but experts agree this is well below the physiological needs of most individuals and suggest 2,000-10,000 IU daily. BrainMD’s Vitamin D3 5000 raises your levels on just one softgel a day.

If you typically have a hard time adjusting to the DST time switch, vitamin D3 can help you get into a new rhythm and beat the time change blues!