DNews Talks Sunny-D!:
So in addition being just plain cold, we’ve probably all felt a little different in-general in the wintertime.
Well Discovery’s DNews dives into some of the possible causes & complications in this here video.
In general, most everything is written-down to the Lack of Sunlight.
That in-turn creates a lowering of Vitamin D and an increase of Melatonin in your body…
Low Vitamin D May Make You SAD:
Even though it’s recently been more contested than before, that leads firstly to SAD.
-Which is characterized by low energy, irritability, and anxiety. Craving fast-carb foods and bear-like hibernative oversleeping are also part of the general sketch.
Are You In Here For Drugs?:
Another odd thing that comes to light is: Drugs. As your Vitamin D levels fluctuate, so does your production of certain enzymes. One of these changes how quickly you metabolize some drugs.
For this, the relationship is direct: Less Sunshine, Less Vitamin D, Less Enzyme, Lowered Drug Metabolism.
As for your body on its own without drugs, Cholesterol-levels are generally observed to be higher in Winter than Summer, also.
Forget The Yoga Pants, Winter Changes Your Genes:
Another study on the much-finer level of DNA and Epigenetics shows that more than 20%! of expressed-genes owe the amount of their expression to the seasons.
In Winter, your body seems to turn on more Pro-Inflammatory genes; which help you fight off infections and colds a little better.
Your immune-system also gets an expressed-gene boost as well.
Drink That St. Bernard Brandy! -Because Winter Is A Killer On Cardio:
In addition to the increased-inflammation, your body also reduces its bloodflow in the Winter. This may be another reason that there are more deaths related to cardiovascular issues in the season, too.
And following-up on the reduction in bloodflow, here are a few extra bits not in the DNews spot.
Low Vitamin D+High Melatonin+Staying Inside+Netflix=Low Metabolism:
The body will generally slow down the Metabolism in Winter. This is probably an evolutionary adaptation (among others; amirite guys?) to ensure you’re kept warm enough to survive for the longest time possible.
No use burning excess calories if you eventually freeze to death, right?
Now while this metabolic slowdown may contribute to general feelings of lower energy & sluggishness, part of this may also be that you’re producing more Melatonin.
And that means you will have the sensation of being drowsy for longer periods before and after sleep.
Your Brain May Not Actually Be Slower:
However, there are some studies that push-back & suggest your mind is not actually slower in Winter. Your body’s “engine” is just running at lower revs, so it just seems slower.
And those studies also suggest that Fall is the season when moods & mental functioning are lowest.
Not sure about that, though. How can anyone get bummed out when there’s Halloween & PUMPKIN SPICE -EVERYTHING-!!!!!!!!
Whether you have SAD or not, hate winter or love it, -chin up! Spring will be here soon enough and we can all go crazy and blame it on the season.
Check out the details at the Links:
Photo/Video Credits:
Video “The Unexpected Things Winter Does To Your Body”, by Discovery’s YT Channel DNews
Photo “Tired bear on the snow”, by Flickr user Tambako The Jaguar
Links:
• Source: YT-DNews,The Unexpected Things Winter Does To Your Body
• More Coverage: Karolinska-Sunlight can influence the breakdown of medicines in the body | CambridgeMedGen-Seasonal immunity: Activity of thousands of genes differs from winter to summer | AccuWeather-3 ways your body battles the cold | AccuWeather-Three Undesirable Ways Fall, Winter May Affect You
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