Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

Psychopharmacology (1998) 135 : 319–323

© Springer-Verlag 1998

O R I G I NA L I N V E S T I G AT I O N

Allen T.G. Lansdowne · Stephen C. Provost

Vitamin D3 enhances mood in healthy subjects during winter

Received: 28 May 1996 / Final version: 6 May 1997

Abstract Mood changes synchronised to the seasons exist on a continuum between individuals, with anxiety and depression increasing during the winter months. An extreme form of seasonality is manifested as the clinical syndrome of seasonal a¤ective disorder
(SAD) with carbohydrate craving, hypersomnia, lethargy, and changes in circadian rhythms also evident. It has been suggested that seasonality and the symptoms of SAD may be due to changing levels of vitamin D3, the hormone of sunlight, leading to changes in brain serotonin. Forty-four healthy subjects were given 400 IU, 800 IU, or no vitamin D3 for 5 days during late winter in a random double-blind study.
Results on a self-report measure showed that vitamin
D3 signiÞcantly enhanced positive a¤ect and there was some evidence of a reduction in negative a¤ect. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for seasonality, SAD, serotonin, food preference, sleep, and circadian rhythms.
Key words Seasonality · Seasonal a¤ective disorder ·
Vitamin D3 · Serotonin · Circadian rhythms

Introduction
Increased levels of anxiety and depression during winter months occur in the normal population and appears to be related to the shortened photoperiod and lower light levels (Schlager et al. 1993). This seasonality exists on a continuum between individuals from no change across the seasons to its extreme form in the syndrome of seasonal a¤ective disorder (SAD or “winter depression”) (Spoont et al. 1991). In SAD, symptoms of
A.T.G. Lansdowne · S.C. Provost (*)
Department of Psychology, The University of Newcastle,
University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia e-mail : [e-mail]

sadness,

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