You might notice that you have a better mood, plenty of positive emotions and a greater need for socializing during the summer sunny days compared to the darker winter months. Why does it happen and how to explain this?
To answer these questions, the researchers from Finland investigated how seasons are connected with our internal processes in the brain. Particularly they looked at the opioids receptors, as they regulate both mood and sociability in the brain, and their possible dependency from the length of daylight hours.
The researchers found out that the number of opioid receptors in the brain changes, depending on the time of the year. These changes turned out to be most prominent indeed in the brain regions that control emotions and sociability.
With these findings, we are a step closer in understanding how our brain is connected to the duration of daylight. And if we know how, we can better deal with it, don’t we?
Curious? HERE is the source