Anxiety is a growing epidemic sweeping the world! Anxiety is something everyone may feel from time to time; maybe you feel a bit nervous about your next big meeting or about going on that date! What separates people who ‘have’ anxiety from the majority who feel it occasionally is the persistent-ness and types of symptoms felt.
What is Anxiety?
Those who suffer from anxiety tend to have either panic attacks, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder or separation anxiety, the severity of these symptoms can also separate you from having the most common form of anxiety and having severe anxiety.
In the U.S, 18% of people are said to have anxiety and 4.1% of that is severe anxiety (1). It has been said that ‘anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality and life events’(2).
Natural Anxiety Relief
Considering that it can be produced from so many different contributors, it’s safe to say that anxiety is an important cause to try and find a natural cure for. Some ways of helping improve the effects of anxiety consist of:
- Exercise daily
- Eat balanced meals
- Get enough sleep
- Take deep breaths- try these great meditation tricks!
- Laugh! Laughing can help lower your anxiety associated with something in particular, by having a giggle about something it releases happy endorphins into your bloodstream, reducing the anxiety (4).
Plus much more ways you can try, find them here! Let’s start by looking at what Vitamin D is.
What You Need To Know About Vitamin D and Anxiety
Vitamin D is an essential ‘steroid with hormone-like activity’ (6), it is used all over our bodies, with receptors in many different places. It was first discovered in the 1920’s as a potential cure for the life-shattering disease, rickets (7).
There are two various types of Vitamin D; Vitamin D3 and Vitamin D2, both have different functions. However, Vitamin D3 is the most relevant and important when discussing our health. Vitamin D3 deficiency can result in depression, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, chronic fatigue symptoms and many more seen in the image above. These deficiencies can develop into cancers and autoimmune diseases (8).
The reason Vitamin D and anxiety have been linked are that vitamin D receptors have been found in our brains, in an area related to anxiety and depression(9).
It has also been related to bone strength, we need certain levels of Vitamin D to have healthy bones, so not only is it essential for the happy brain it is also important for a healthy body. This proves that there is a link between the two. Even though scientists do not have much empirical evidence regarding the two links, there is a lot of hypothesis based evidence.
This study based its method of discovering how vitamin D and anxiety are related, it created the small link between the two, showing that low levels of vitamin D are associated with presence and severity of depressive disorder (10).
Why Are You Low In Vitamin D
Over a billion people worldwide have lower levels of Vitamin D than they should. In today’s age, people tend to spend a lot of time indoors, living a more sedentary lifestyle with a lot more jobs in offices. This means less exposure to direct sunlight, which is one of the primary sources of Vitamin D that we need to thrive.
How to Get More Sun Exposure
- Go for a short walk outside of the office at peak sunshine times, usually from 12am-2pm.
- Maximize your time outside on your days off.
- Particularly in the summer, maximize your time outside as in the winter your body tends to get its Vitamin D from food. Around ten minutes of sun exposure, a day should be enough before applying sun cream.
- Take off your jumper or jacket when it’s beautiful and warm for a couple of minutes, let your skin soak in the sun. But don’t leave it too long, you don’t want to be freezing if it’s the middle of winter!
- Try exercising outside! Don’t head over to the gym, go for a run around the park or even give gardening a go.
Your Diet is Important
Our diets are also another important way of getting enough Vitamin D, keeping our levels stable. Unfortunately, in today’s modern world, our diets are relatively low in foods that are high in Vitamin D, with access to easy, fast foods. Some foods you should try to boost your levels are:
- Oily fish- salmon, mackerel, and canned tuna are all good options.
- Egg yolks
- Cheese
- Beef Liver
- Soy Milk
These different foods all have one thing in common; they contain the good cholesterol our body needs to help produce Vitamin D (12). Here is a delicious salmon recipe, that’s guaranteed to up your Vitamin D levels!
So if you have feelings of anxiety and have tried various techniques to improve it but are still at a loss, try and maximize the amount of sunshine you are getting!
Spend a mere ten minutes of your day outside, soaking up the rays, and you’ll feel your mood lift in no time. By soaking up those UV rays and eating a well-balanced diet containing good cholesterol ridden foods, you are sure to have a healthier brain and body in no time.
Here are some more reading sources on dealing with anxiety:
Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
