I feel “off”? Therefore, spring time can affect your mood

If you have thoughts of suicide or someone you know is in an immediate danger you should call 911 (or your country local emergency) or go to an emergency room. Explain that this is a psychiatric emergency and ask for someone who is trained for such situations.

On a gray, rainy day in March 2024, Dr. Norman Rosental, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical University, called me from Maryland to discuss irony of fate, to discuss spring euphoria. Rosental was the first person to describe seasonally affective disorder (sad), which is a depression that comes with changes in the season (usually winter), and he is a pioneer Light therapy As a treatment of this disorder.

At the beginning of our call, Rosental considered how the time, which is extremely contrasting with sunny weather earlier during the week, is confronted with the topic at the moment: a spring mood. “Then I realized that this was part of the trouble with spring,” he thinks. “Yesterday it was just great and maybe it will be tomorrow or the next day, but it’s up and down.”

How can the transition from winter to spring affect us

Talk a lot about Impact on health From the summer time to save light and low moods in winter, but the energizing and sometimes unstable effects of spring also deserve some digging. For many, especially those who live in more seasonal areas of the world, where there is a dramatic change from winter to a warmer weather, and those with Seasonal affective disorderThis first spring air impulse can bring with it a great outburst of energy, improved mood and even light feelings of euphoria. This is not a medical term, but we can also call it “spring fever”.

As someone who grew up in the Midwest and now lives on the east coast, I have always relied on those first few days of spring to strengthen my mood and feed me again. For me, this transition from dark to light, bitter-cold to sunny-defrost feels like the first few sips of coffee combined with warmly sunlight hits your faceS And judging by the number of people who are suddenly inspired Clean your homes and our natural Draw to sunlight As people I know I’m not alone.

But like spring, the moods and reasons for them are far from simple, according to Rosental, who noted that it was not as simple as “it was dark, it is now sunny; I was sad, now I am glad.” Not only do you feel euphoric during this first warm week can indicate a state of mental health that needs attention, such as bipolar disorder or other mood disorders, but the nature of spring can lead to other factors that affect our mood, such as changing relationships, changes in the duration of day and more.

“All these things should be accommodated by your biology and your psychology,” said Rosental, who is also the author of the book By defeating sadS

Why can you feel energetic in early spring

Spring comes with more opportunities to expose sunlight for many people. As humans we are biologically connected to take advantage of sunlight and our sleeping pattern Or the circadian rhythm depends on it. When we receive the right amount of exposure to sunlight, we tend to be better physically and mentallyS (As long as you are defending your leather and eyesof course.)

“Sunlight in the spring certainly matters,” says Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, a family doctor based in Arizona. Sunlight improves our mood in several different ways, she said.

“The sun can actually help reduce melatonin levels, so we don’t feel so sleepy during the day,” Bhuyan explained. “The sun can also help increase the neurotransmitter serotonin,” she added, who is known as “Feel good“Chemical.

In addition, the extra sunlight, especially in the late afternoon, as people go out of work or out of school, make us more social and even more frequent to exercise -two separate factors that can enhance mood, according to Bhuyan.

Now is the time to add some nuance: some people may report that they feel more savvy or experience more significant mood swings in the spring than others because of their individual biology. They may come out of their SAD symptoms, which is a seasonal depression caused in winter in most cases (not all).

In addition, some people tend to experience more intensity changes in mood or their transmitters may be more sensitive to serotonin due to depression, Rosental said.

“In people with bipolar tendency, lack of light is depressing,” he explained. “Extension of light is activated.”

Rosental noted that the “bipolar tendency” in this context not only means people with clinically significant bipolar disorder, but also others who experience the moods up and down and can be “more susceptible to spring than the movement of the mill.”

“With every mental state, it’s a matter of degree,” Rosental said, adding that how it affects the quality of your life is what is important.

“The euphoria is good or bad depending on how marked it,” he said. “For most people, I would say, this is a welcome increase in energy and mood and something to celebrate.”

Read more: Getting a morning sunlight improved my sleep: that’s why you should

Why can you feel “off” in the spring

If you just read all those good news about the sunlight and its positive impact on our mood, but you long for more morning sunlight or still try from this clock adjustment in March, you are not without merit: there are some Negative effects on health Related to the summer saving time, many of them are associated with this hour of sleep, which we lose and deprivation of sleep lowering effectS

There are and there are reasons to prefer it lighter in earlier and darker earlierDepending on the factors such as the graphics and preferences of your family – denial of all the “euphoric” feelings of warm weather and later sunset, they will have for some.

Another reason for someone’s mood may be negatively influenced in the spring is what Rosental mentioned earlier: the ups and falls of time and the way we try to follow our natural environment. For example, someone who needs it may not use their light box or therapeutic lamp Since it was a super-suwing yesterday, even though it was a dark day today, he explained.

“This can be a little thawing,” Rosental said.

Bhuyan agrees with the dramatic meteorological spring can be drawn and its effect on some people.

“Rare time changes can really affect people’s moods,” she said.

SAD is not limited to winter because the only time it appears to affect people’s mood; Summer sad It can also significantly affect people’s moods. And for people who experience depression or other symptoms during the warmer months, whether it is spring or summer, they may have a less support, as people have a greater understanding of what is happening. For example, people who experience sad in the summer can sleep less instead of more and feel more reversible or restless compared to what is “typical” in winterS

“For many people who have seasonally affective disorder in the spring, this is even more insulating because it is not so well recognized,” Bhuyan said.

When euphoria is a problem

For people with Bipolar disorder or other mental health, sunlight or spring may act Maniawhich may include explosion of energy, ideas, racing thoughts and exceptional plans or actions that may or may not be harmful to you. You may feel extremely annoying or extremely happy.

Studies show that the degree of suicides is higher in spring and summer; Not in dumb, more long -lived times like winter, as we can expect. In addition to mania and his A connection to suicide and depressionThere is also some information that implies inflammation and allergies associated with the spring and depression can be a contributing factorS Experts also theorizes that Emphasis on social interactions And relationships in the spring and summer can also play a role, and those who feel depressed or excited in the warmer months, May Feel you missS

But the reasons behind the model are not completely clear. “This tells me that there is obviously a deeper connection with the problems of mental health,” Bhuyan told the lack of final research.

With regard to when a re -loaded or euphoric spring mood may impose more attention or assistance from a mental health provider, Bhuyan and Rosental identify several of the same “red flags” that suggest that you can take advantage of a management or treatment plan. Here’s what to be careful:

Lack of sleep: If you are Sleeping Since you do not feel that you need it or you are too restless to rest, it means a problem.

You’re annoying: In addition to the extreme feelings of rapture, happiness, euphoria or a sense of the top of the world, There may also be an “irritable quality” at the low levels of spring mood, Rosental said.

Other people comment: If you are buzzing around with a shocking new plan you have about your life, you talk with a tempo that people cannot understand, up to 4 you are cleaned or something else of no residents, people close to you may start to say something. If they do, listen to them, as this is one of the most important signs of euphoria or happiness can be more empire and guarantee some help from a healthcare professional.

And if a friend or someone you know acts unusually, you do not keep your tongue for fear of annoying them or hurting their feelings.

“Remember to mention them, because they may not notice it on their own,” Bhuyan said.

Impulsive solutions: Spending a ton of money, making a great choice that you would not usually make or other choices that are “outside the blue” can also mean that you are at risk of mania, Bhuyan said.

These are just a few flags for experience that require attention to the healthcare provider; Other things besides spring or season change can cause mania or a mental health crisis. If you are considering suicide or thinking of committing an act that can hurt you, call 911, or tell a person near you so that you can help you get help or call emergency services. According to Harvard School of Public Health in Harvard, the suicidal crisis in which someone is at increased risk of dying can be very short – a a A matter of hours or even minutesto make immediate help of crucial.