Morgan BellSeasons change mood and attractiveness
June 15th 2006 14:42
The sky is still dark when your alarm clock starts its infernal beeping. Surely it can’t be morning already? You pry yourself out of a nest of beautifully heavy sheets, though the bed has never been so alluringly warm. It’s so cold that it’s almost impossible to scurry down the driveway to pick up the newspaper without first getting fully dressed. Yes, ladies and gentlemen – winter has well and truly arrived, and with it commonly comes feelings of lethargy and depression.
If the turn of the seasons has got you down, then perhaps you are suffering from symptoms of SAD (seasonal affective disorder). SAD affects up to one in 20 people and is most common in women aged between 18 and 40. The disorder normally manifests during autumn and winter of each year in feelings of depression, misery, lethargy, insomnia, appetite problems and a loss of sex drive.
SAD is believed to be caused by insufficient exposure to sunlight. According to the National Mental Health Association: “Melatonin, a sleep-related hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, has been linked to SAD. This hormone, which may cause symptoms of depression, is produced at increased levels in the dark. Therefore, when the days are shorter and darker the production of this hormone increases.”
Another depressing fact about winter is its effect on our body shapes. A new study in behavioral neuroendocrinology at Simon Fraser University in Canada has found that seasonal changes are responsible for hormonal (testosterone) changes which in turn shift the distribution of fat in our bodies.
More testosterone in women causes fat to move to the waist and hip, resulting in a less curvaceous body shape. Discovery Science reports: “The study suggests women look more curvaceous in winter and spring. Men, explained Van Anders, look manlier during spring since waist and hip size becomes more uniform and less feminine.”
If the turn of the seasons has got you down, then perhaps you are suffering from symptoms of SAD (seasonal affective disorder). SAD affects up to one in 20 people and is most common in women aged between 18 and 40. The disorder normally manifests during autumn and winter of each year in feelings of depression, misery, lethargy, insomnia, appetite problems and a loss of sex drive.
SAD is believed to be caused by insufficient exposure to sunlight. According to the National Mental Health Association: “Melatonin, a sleep-related hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, has been linked to SAD. This hormone, which may cause symptoms of depression, is produced at increased levels in the dark. Therefore, when the days are shorter and darker the production of this hormone increases.”
Another depressing fact about winter is its effect on our body shapes. A new study in behavioral neuroendocrinology at Simon Fraser University in Canada has found that seasonal changes are responsible for hormonal (testosterone) changes which in turn shift the distribution of fat in our bodies.
More testosterone in women causes fat to move to the waist and hip, resulting in a less curvaceous body shape. Discovery Science reports: “The study suggests women look more curvaceous in winter and spring. Men, explained Van Anders, look manlier during spring since waist and hip size becomes more uniform and less feminine.”
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