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Depression
8 Tips for Managing Mood and Food Over the Winter Holidays
How to thrive during the coldest, darkest, saddest, hungriest time of year.
Updated December 27, 2023 Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
Key points
- Winter holidays and winter weather can mean higher stress hormone levels that make you hungry.
- Weaker sunlight means less vitamin D, which is a brain antioxidant hormone.
- Shorter days mean dinners in the dark, when metabolism is slowest.
Between 5% and 10% of Americans have winter-onset seasonal affective disorder, and of the 18% of Americans with year-round depression, two-thirds experience worsening of their usual symptoms around the holidays. Taken together, this means that 1 in 5 Americans suffer from clinical depression this time of year.
Why does this happen, and is there anything you can you do about it (without relocating to the Equator)?
Trying to get through winter without getting depressed and overeating can feel so impossible that most people just expect their weight to go up and their mood to go down, then hope they can claw their way slowly back to health and happiness in January.
The good news is that this pattern is not inevitable—you have a lot more control over your mood and your food than you realize, even in the dead of winter. If you understand what drives winter depression and overeating, you could find yourself thriving and actually enjoying this holiday season.
Winter’s Perfect Storm: Stress, Darkness, and Holiday Treats
Holiday stress: Financial stress, schedule stress, family stress, weather stress, travel stress? Stress promotes high adrenaline and cortisol levels that can disrupt sleep, make you feel anxious and irritable, and increase your appetite, especially for carbohydrate-rich foods.
Brain-healthy habit #1: Don't go it alone—share your feelings with friends, family, and/or a counselor. Manage expectations—don’t spend money you don’t have, and don’t take on more than you can handle. Prioritize the people and events you enjoy most and that matter the most to you.
Shorter days: The further north you live, the earlier the sun sets, which usually means eating dinner—often the largest meal of the day—in the dark, which is not good for your metabolism. Our biological clocks are tied to the sun, and when the sun sets, metabolism naturally slows down, making it easier to store fat. Shorter days can also mean fewer hours spent being active, so we need less food this time of year, yet many of us tend to eat more than usual, not less.
Brain-healthy habit #2: Try making dinner your lightest meal of the day, eating only during daylight hours, or eating only twice a day. Pro tip: Fasting for 16 hours every night by eating dinner earlier and/or eating breakfast later gives your brain and body a healthy break from the biological stress of food processing and allows your metabolism to shift into an anti-inflammatory healing mode overnight.
Brain-healthy habit #3: Every morning, go outside and expose your eyes to sunlight (even on cloudy days) for at least 20 minutes to help regulate your biological clock. Pro tip: Keep warm, comfortable outdoor clothing by your bed and put it on as soon as you get up. Within a few minutes you'll be so warm you'll feel inspired to go outside.
Less sunlight: Sunlight energizes our brains and bodies and stimulates our skin to make vitamin D. In the northern half of the U.S., above the 37th parallel, the sun’s UV-B rays are too weak to stimulate vitamin D production, so many people become deficient—and the darker your skin, the greater your risk. A staggering 96% of Black Americans do not have sufficient vitamin D levels. We think of vitamin D as a bone vitamin, but if you have vitamin D deficiency you don’t just have a bone problem, you have a brain problem. Vitamin D is a hormone with antioxidant properties that helps the brain fight damaging oxidative stress—a common underlying feature of depression and other mental health problems.
Unfortunately, studies find vitamin D supplementation may not help much with winter depression. This may be because 88% of Americans have one or more signs of insulin resistance, a metabolic disorder that makes it more difficult for our bodies to activate and respond to vitamin D. Insulin resistance is caused by high insulin levels, so bringing insulin levels down into a healthy range could help your vitamin D work better.
Brain-healthy habit #4: If your vitamin D level is below 35 ng/ml, shore up your vitamin D stores through diet and/or supplementation. Foods richest in vitamin D3 are fatty fish, although egg yolks and liver also contain small amounts. Plant foods contain no vitamin D of any kind, and mushrooms and yeast (which are technically not plants) contain vitamin D2, a form that is harder to use and store than D3. If you wish to supplement, choose a vitamin D3 supplement that also contains vitamin K2—a hormone that supports brain cell health and works together with vitamin D to help your body absorb and use calcium. A commonly recommended wintertime dosage of vitamin D3 is 2000 IU per day. Pro tip: If you have dark skin, are pregnant, have had bariatric surgery, are overweight, or have insulin resistance, you may need 4000 IU per day.
Brain-healthy habit #5: Avoid refined carbohydrates such as sugars, flours, cereal products, dried fruit, and fruit juices, as these cause the steepest spikes in insulin. Pro tip: Also avoid whey protein powder, which stimulates insulin almost as much as pure glucose does.
Brain-healthy habit #6: Find forms of exercise you enjoy and incorporate them into your daily routine. Pro tip: Exercises that build muscle such as resistance training are more time-efficient and effective ways to improve metabolic health than aerobic activities such as jogging, because working muscles soak up blood glucose like a sponge, no insulin required.
Holiday treats: Many of the special treats we associate with holidays such as cookies, candies, and pie are full of refined carbohydrates. Not only can these lead to high insulin levels and insulin resistance, they also directly promote inflammation and oxidative stress—rounding out the unholy trinity of brain-damaging forces that we see in most psychiatric conditions, including depression. And, to make matters worse, they can cause dramatic spikes and crashes in glucose and insulin levels that place your stress and appetite hormones on a roller coaster for many hours afterward. This vicious cycle can lead to strong carbohydrate cravings and feelings of anxiety and irritability between meals (“hangry”).
Brain-healthy habit #7: Make minimally processed whole foods like meat, vegetables, seafood, poultry, eggs, nuts, and fruits the foundation of your diet. These foods are more nutritious and more satisfying for most people. The less often you stray from this safe and nutritious "paleo" pattern, the better. Pro tip: If you choose to indulge in brain-risky ingredients on special occasions, commit to returning to your healthy plan the very next day. To quote Duke University obesity medicine researcher Dr. Eric Westman, “Don’t let a holiDAY become a holiWEEK."
Cups of cheer? Many popular winter beverages like eggnog, cider, and mulled wine are not only high in sugar, but also contain alcohol, another powerful promoter of oxidative stress. In addition to its well-established addictive potential, alcohol disrupts healthy sleep patterns, and can contribute to anxiety, depression, attention, and memory problems.
Brain-healthy habit #8: Choose water, seltzer, tea, or coffee over sugary or alcoholic beverages. Pro tip: If you suffer from any mental health condition, or have trouble controlling how much you drink, it would be wise to avoid alcohol entirely.
May Your Days Be Merry and Bright
To learn more about the powerful connection between nutrition, brain metabolism, and mental health, explore my new book Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind, which explains how you can substantially reduce your risk for most of the mental health problems we fear from depression to Alzheimer's disease by tailoring your diet to your personal metabolism, preferences, and goals.
If you prioritize your mental health and well-being, your holidays could be downright joyful. After all, the best gift you can give your family and your friends is your cheerful company.
