During the autumn and winter months, many Britons struggle to produce enough vitamin D due to the shorter, darker days. From late March to September, we are more exposed to direct sunlight, which helps our bodies produce the right levels of vitamin D. However, during the low-sun months, sunlight alone isn’t enough to reduce the risk of deficiency.
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, supports healthy bones and muscles, reduces inflammation and increases your immune system defences.
This guide outlines five common symptoms of low vitamin D levels and effective ways of boosting your intake throughout winter.
Tiredness and Fatigue
Vitamin D is an essential part of energy production and muscle function, and so we are likely to feel tired when we don’t get enough during autumn and winter. It helps support your mitochondria, which convert energy from food into a usable form known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Lower levels of vitamin D can reduce your overall energy availability, resulting in a persistent feeling of fatigue.
Tiredness can also be the result of poor sleep quality (covered in more detail below) and reduced muscle memory, as your body needs to work harder when it doesn’t have the correct vitamin D levels.
Increased Risk of Illness
If you find yourself getting ill repeatedly throughout the colder months, it can be a sign that you have a weaker immune system, which can be linked to vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D helps to activate T cells, with low levels making it harder and slower for your body to identify and respond to threats. Other aspects, like your innate immune system, need vitamin D to fight bacteria and illness and strengthen the body’s defences.
While sources of vitamin D, like supplements, can help to increase levels and your body’s defences, they won’t completely protect you from seasonal flu's and illnesses.
Lower Cognitive Capabilities
As covered previously, lower vitamin D levels can mean that people are more fatigued and tired, and this can have longer-lasting effects. In the short term, it can result in brain fogginess and slower thinking when needing to concentrate. As vitamin D helps to strengthen neurons, boosted levels can increase memory, learning, and processing speed.
In the long term, it can lead to cognitive decline and dementia, and as reported by the BBC, young onset dementia is growing more common for this reason. A recent study by the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute in Canada and the University of Exeter found that vitamin D supplements could help to prevent dementia; however, it’s important to note that this is still a developing area of research.
Weaker Bones and Muscles
With lower vitamin D levels, you may begin to feel your body weaken during the season. Sunlight is required for muscle and bone production, meaning that you may be more likely to experience aches and pains, as well as a bad back or tooth decay.
When children experience weaker and softer bones because of low vitamin D levels, it can be a sign of rickets; whereas these signs in adults can be attributed to osteomalacia. It can also affect hair growth, as it shortens the active hair growth phase and therefore prevents hair follicles from developing as usual.
Poor Sleep and Seasonal Affective Disorder
During the low sun months, people are more likely to suffer from poor sleep and seasonal affective disorder (SAD), as low vitamin D levels affect hormone production.
Exposure to sunlight helps to produce serotonin, which helps to regulate mood, motivation, and emotional stability. During the darker days, people have reduced serotonin and dopamine levels. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, around 3% of people have severe winter depression.
Less exposure to the sun can also affect sleep quality, as it can confuse your body clock. While sunlight in summer can help to regulate melatonin for a better night's sleep, the depths of winter can make it more difficult to fall asleep or wake up in the morning.
How Supplements Alleviate Lack of Vitamin D Symptoms
While vitamin D production is dependent on sunlight exposure, there are multiple ways to get the right levels required throughout winter. Eating certain foods, like salmon and tuna, fish liver, oils, and egg yolks, as well as milk, orange juice, and plant-based milks, helps to increase vitamin D levels.
Supplements can be a sure-fire way to get the NHS-recommended 10 micrograms of vitamin D, which helps to maintain healthy bones, teeth, and muscles. Here at SunVit-D3, we provide a range of non-medical vitamin D3 capsules and tablets to support your health and well-being.
Head to our vitamin D3 page to explore our range.
