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🦆 CHILL THE DUCK OUT

Volume 042: The seasonal upsy downsies.

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Now, let's talk about why January feels weird.

🦆 Cold Open

The holidays are over. The decorations are packed away. The New Year's energy has fizzled out somewhere around January 7th. And now you're just... here. In the middle of January. When it gets dark at 5pm and the sky is the color of a sad dishrag and you can't quite remember what sunshine feels like.

I know, logically, that nothing is actually wrong. My life is the same as it was in December and even before that. Same job, same family, same responsibilities. But somehow everything feels just a little bit harder. A little bit heavier. Like someone turned down the brightness on life and I'm walking around squinting at everything, wondering why I'm so tired when I haven't actually done anything.

I've started calling them the seasonal upsy downsies. Because "depression" feels too heavy and "winter blues" feels too casual, but "upsy downsies" feels about right for this weird emotional wobbliness that shows up every January like an unwelcome houseguest who doesn't know when to leave.

Some days are fine. Great, even. And then the next day you're tearing up over a commercial about dogs finding homes, or you can't get out of bed even though there's nothing specifically wrong, or you're just inexplicably grumpy at everyone and everything for reasons you can't articulate.

Upsy downsies.

For years, I thought I was just bad at winter, or that I needed to try harder to stay positive, or that I should be more grateful because nothing is actually wrong and other people have real problems and who am I to feel down when the sun sets early?

But then I learned that our brain chemistry literally changes in January. The short days and long nights aren't just inconvenient. They're messing with the actual chemicals in our brains that regulate mood, energy, and motivation. The seasonal upsy downsies are, in fact, a completely normal biological response to living through winter in a human body that was designed to have more daylight than this.

We’re all just being mammalian.

And if you're reading this while feeling inexplicably off in a way you can't quite name, while wondering why everything feels harder than it should, while thinking you should be over the winter thing by now, you're not alone.

You're just experiencing what happens when your brain realizes it's January and the sun has abandoned us.

So this week, we're talking about the science of seasonal mood changes, why mid-January hits different, what's actually happening in your brain when the days are short, and most importantly, how to be easy on yourself when you're in the middle of the seasonal upsy downsies.

🧠 The Science Bit

Let's dig into why mid-January turns your brain chemistry into a moody teenager who just wants to sleep until March, backed by research that confirms you're not imagining this.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is real, and the "winter blues" are its lighter cousin.

SAD affects about 5% of adults, but research shows up to 20% of people experience subclinical symptoms, whether you call them the winter blues, the blahs, or the upsy downsies. The key factor is light. Studies in the American Journal of Psychiatry show that reduced natural light disrupts your circadian rhythm and affects neurotransmitter production, particularly serotonin (mood regulator) and melatonin (sleep hormone). Less daylight means your brain literally produces less of the chemicals that help you feel good and sleep well.

Your brain chemistry actually changes in winter.

Neuroimaging studies show that serotonin transporter levels vary seasonally in healthy people. Research in Archives of General Psychiatry found that serotonin transporter binding is significantly higher in winter than summer, meaning your brain is less efficient at using the serotonin it does produce. So, even if you're doing everything "right," your brain chemistry is working against you in January.

Additionally, vitamin D deficiency, which is extremely common in winter, is associated with depression and mood disorders. Your body produces vitamin D from sunlight, so in winter when you're bundled up and the sun barely shows, your levels drop. Studies link low vitamin D to increased risk of seasonal mood changes.

The post-holiday comedown compounds everything.

Research shows the contrast between holiday excitement and ordinary January creates a psychological letdown. Add financial stress from holiday spending, disrupted routines, and failed New Year's resolutions, and you've got the perfect storm of biological and psychological factors making January particularly rough.

Some people are more susceptible.

Factors that increase vulnerability: living at higher latitudes (shorter winter days), family history of depression or SAD, being female (women are diagnosed with SAD four times more often), and being younger (symptoms often start in your 20s and 30s). If you have a history of depression or anxiety, you're more likely to experience seasonal worsening. But even people with no mood disorder history can experience winter blues because your brain doesn't need to be "broken" to be affected by lack of sunlight.

The good news: small interventions actually help.

Research shows that light therapy (10,000 lux for 20-30 minutes daily), vitamin D supplementation, regular exercise, and maintaining social connections all reduce seasonal mood symptoms. Exercise increases serotonin and endorphin production. Social connection buffers against seasonal depression. The key finding is that you don't have to just suffer through it. Small, consistent actions make a measurable difference.

🍟 This Week’s Happytizer

This week, instead of trying to fix the seasonal upsy downsies or forcing yourself to feel differently, I want you to practice gentle interventions, just small things that help your brain chemistry without requiring you to become a different person.

Here's how:

1. Get light in your face in the morning.

Within 30 minutes of waking up, get some kind of bright light exposure. If it's sunny, stand outside for 5-10 minutes (even if it's cold, the light matters more than the temperature). If it's gray and terrible, turn on all the lights in your house and sit near a window. If you can swing it, a light therapy box for 20-30 minutes makes a real difference.

Your circadian rhythm needs morning light to regulate properly and giving your brain the signal it needs to know it's daytime.

2. Move your body, even if it's gentle.

You don't have to go to the gym. You don't have to run. You just need to move. A walk around the block. Stretching in your living room. Dancing to one song while waiting for the oven to preheat. Anything that gets your body out of stationary mode.

Research shows that movement increases serotonin and endorphin production, which directly counteracts the brain chemistry changes causing the upsy downsies. Even 10 minutes helps.

3. Take vitamin D.

Talk to your doctor about vitamin D supplementation if you haven't already. Most people are deficient in winter, and the research on vitamin D and mood is compelling. It's a small thing that can make a real difference.

4. Connect with one person.

Text a friend. Call your mom. Have coffee with a coworker. Sit with your partner for 10 minutes without phones. Any form of human connection counts.

Research shows that social connection buffers against seasonal depression. You don't have to explain how you're feeling or have a deep conversation. Just being with someone helps.

5. Lower the bar for everything.

This is the most important one. January is survival mode. If you're getting through the days, you're doing great. The productive, motivated, "I've got my life together" version of you can come back when the days get longer.

Right now, the goal is just: make it through January with some gentleness toward yourself. That's it. That's the whole goal.

Permission slip for the week:

You are allowed to feel however you feel in January without needing to fix it, explain it, or apologize for it. The upsy downsies are real. Go easy on yourself.

Reflection questions:

• When do you notice the seasonal changes affecting your mood?

• What small thing makes January slightly more bearable?

• How would you treat a friend who was experiencing the upsy downsies? Can you offer yourself that same kindness?

💬 Tell me about your seasonal upsy downsies

How does January affect you? What small things help you through it?

📩 [email protected]

If this made you feel a little less alone in the seasonal weirdness, share this with a friend who might need to hear it... or I'll assume you're one of those mythical people who loves winter and has never experienced a down day in January, which honestly sounds fake.

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🫶 Duckin’ Done

That's Volume 042.

Here's to naming the seasonal upsy downsies, being a bit easier on ourselves when our brain chemistry is having a moment, and remembering that you're just a mammal living through winter.

Until next time: breathe deep, get some light in your face, and chill the duck out.

Jason

🔬 Behind the Curtain

Seasonal Affective Disorder affects approximately 5% of adults, with up to 20% experiencing subclinical seasonal mood changes. Research in the American Journal of Psychiatry demonstrates that reduced light exposure disrupts circadian rhythms and neurotransmitter production. Studies in Archives of General Psychiatry show serotonin transporter binding is significantly higher in winter, making the brain less efficient at using serotonin. Research consistently links vitamin D deficiency to depression and mood disorders. Studies on light therapy (10,000 lux for 20-30 minutes) show significant improvement in SAD symptoms. Research demonstrates that exercise increases serotonin and endorphin production, while social connection buffers against seasonal depression.