July, when I unusually slept more and experienced emotional ups and downs, was caused by 'this'.

The reason why people feel depressed during the rainy season is because the amount of sunlight decreases, causing changes in hormones. Sunlight refers to the amount of sunlight that reaches the ground, and except for winter, the average sunlight in July is relatively low due to the influence of the rainy season front and cloud cover. Sunlight affects the secretion of hormones in our body. The main ones are serotonin and melatonin.

Dr. Son Je-hyun, director of Dream Psychiatry Clinic, said, "Serotonin promotes positive emotions, while melatonin suppresses all motivation," and added, "When sunlight exposure is low, serotonin levels decrease and melatonin secretion increases." As a result, individuals tend to feel negative emotions more easily and lack motivation in everything they do. The biological rhythm also changes. The brain stabilizes at night and awakens in the morning, but when the brain does not wake up well in the morning, it feels sleepy at any time.

 

It is difficult to artificially increase sunlight exposure, but even when living indoors, bright lighting can help promote positive feelings to some extent. It is good to have bright lighting, such as a desk lamp, in the home or office, and keep it on during daytime hours.

Increasing physical activity is also important. Director Son Je-hyun said, "When it rains, the time spent outdoors decreases, leading to reduced physical activity, which can foster feelings of depression and lethargy," and added, "It's good to take a walk for about 30 minutes, and if that's difficult, I recommend at least doing some stretching indoors."

Even if it's hard to wake up in the morning, don't delay your wake-up time; maintaining the habit of going to bed and waking up at the scheduled time can prevent depression during the rainy season.