Summer is good for morale!

The morale of the French is improving little by little. The first good news came from the lifting of health restrictions, as reported a study carried out by Public Health France. The second piece of good news comes with the arrival of summer, a time when mental distress tends to be lower than the rest of the year. In any case, this is what a study carried out by American researchers from the University of Binghamton confirms, the results of which were published on May 27 in the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports.

A virtuous circle

The summer period is conducive to taking more care of your body and your health. “Our results suggest that summer is associated with better diet quality, higher exercise frequency and improved mood.”, concluded Lina Begdache, lead author of the study. Together with her team of scientists, she has already studied the relationship between mental distress and exercise frequency with different diets and lifestyles. This time, they sought to examine this link in light of seasonal changes across age groups, reflecting brain maturity, to describe their complex role in mental distress.

“Taken together, our results supported the hypothesis that risk factors for mental distress are dynamicdescribed Lina Begdache. They also suggest that improving one factor can have a positive impact on all the others. For example, if it’s difficult to improve diet or increase exercise frequency, adjusting the sleep cycle can make things easier first. Similarly, increasing the frequency of exercise can improve eating and sleep. This virtuous circle will ultimately lead to improved mental well-being, according to our findings..”

Seasonal changes alter the circadian rhythm

The researchers followed 52 adults for 4 weeks during which the participants answered a questionnaire daily. They repeated this operation twice a year for two years, during the summer and autumn seasons. This allowed the researchers to collect daily data on diet, sleep, general well-being, exercise, and mental distress. The reason for the seasonal change was to account for alterations in the circadian rhythm, the researchers point out.

The results showed that seasonal changes impact diet quality and mental health. Mental distress thus tends to be lower in summer than in autumn. Food is also better during the summer period.

A complex and multidimensional association

“The association between diet, sleep, exercise, and seasonal changes in mental distress is complex and multidimensionalassures Lina Begdache. These variables are intertwined such that a change in one factor can alter the direction of the others and, therefore, impact mood. Therefore, recognizing the dynamic relationships between these lifestyle factors and mental distress is crucial to provide the necessary foundation for nutritionists and health professionals to improve prophylactic and therapeutic approaches..”

Daylight, a well-being asset

In addition, summer is also the season of fine weather and light plays an important role in morale by improving the quality of sleep. “It allows melatonin to be prepared, as if it were recharging it during the day so that it is well synthesized at nightdescribe the chronobiologist Claire Leconte. The more you benefit from it, the better, because it is this hormone that allows you to have quality sleep. Conversely, in winter, when the days are very short, most people arrive and leave their workplace when it is dark and have very little contact with this natural light. Often this gives rise to what is called seasonal depression, from November to March, approximately.”