GLASGOW has been crowned the saddest place to live in the UK.
People living in the Scottish city saw the least amount of sunshine out of everywhere in the UK, according to Met Office figures.
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Sun deprivation has been associated with several health issues from disturbed sleep, to obesity, cancer, and depression.
This type of depression is related to changes in seasons and is known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD.
The causes are not clear. However, scientists think reduced exposure to sunlight in the winter may be important.
It could hinder the production of the hormones melatonin, which is important for regular sleep, and serotonin, also known as the “happy hormone”.
People inhabiting the northern hemisphere are particularly vulnerable as they are forced to endure longer and darker winter nights.
Based on Met Office figures, Glasgow only experiences around 1233 hours of sunlight a year – this compares to the sunniest place in the UK, Chichester, which sees a remarkable 1918 hours of sun annually.
Another northernly Scottish city, Inverness, also scores badly on the happiness scale, coming in second for the most miserable place to live with just 1249 hours of sunlight.
In joint third place are the English cities of Manchester and Salford, which both experience an average of just 1265 hours of serotonin-boosting sunlight.
People living in Belfast and Armagh see slightly more hours of sunshine each year – 1277 and 1279 hours respectively, placing the Northern Irish cities in fourth and fifth place.
Stirling, in Scotland, comes in at sixth place and experiences just 1279 hours of light each year, the research conducted by supplement brand Miracle Leaf found.
Stealing seventh place is Dunfermline, just outside of Edinburgh, which sees 1295 hours of sunlight, putting
In ninth and tenth place were Lisburn in Northern Ireland, which sees 1345 hours of sunlight, and Preston, England, which experiences 1367 hours.
What are the symptoms?
Experiencing SAD is not just feeling grumpy, or a case of the winter blues.
Stephen Buckley, from mental health charity Mind, says: “If you have SAD, you’ll experience depression during some seasons in particular or because of certain types of weather.
“It doesn’t mean you ‘just feel a bit low in winter’.
“It can affect your life just as much as other types of depression.”
Signs of depression include a low mood, tearfulness, and a feeling of despair.
It may leave you wanting to withdraw socially or lose interest in everyday activities and hobbies, have a reduced sex drive, and feel stressed or anxious.
For those with SAD, they might eat more and gain weight.
Being depressed can make work or relationships difficult to maintain.
It may just feel difficult to cope, at which point you should consider seeing your GP.
What can you do about it?
A GP can carry out an assessment to check your mental health and recommend potential treatment plans.
For those with winter SAD, this may look like light therapy or lifestyle measures that encourage seeking natural daylight.
Lifestyle measures that may help include:
- Get as much natural sunlight as possible
- Exercise regularly
- Reduce stress
- Eat a healthy diet
- Light therapy – where a special lamp called a light box is used to simulate exposure to sunlight