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Bring on the beams

Currently, southern Ontario is getting approximately three more minutes of sunlight every day, according to the .

The days started getting longer in late December, and the sun is rising slightly higher up with each passing week.

“We’ll start feeling greater warmth on our skin, too,” Bob Berman wrote on the Almanac website. “Solar intensity depends on the sun’s height.”

March equinox

In Ontario, we are seeing more than 11 hours of sunlight now, which will grow longer as we approach the March equinox, or the first day of spring on Thursday, March 20 — specifically at 5:01 a.m.

“On the March equinox, the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere receive roughly equal amounts of sunlight; neither hemisphere is tilted more toward or away from the sun than the other,” .

The word equinox is Latin for “equal night,” and on the equinox, the hours of daytime and darkness is almost equal around the world.

When does spring start?

If you don’t want to wait that long for spring to arrive, then turn to scientific terms, where the meteorological spring falls on March 1, the Almanac noted. It is usually based on temperature cycles, and typically follows the Gregorian calendar.

Either way, most Ontario residents are ready to embrace some sunshine.

Mood-boosting serotonin

As the days get longer, it gives people more opportunity to either get outside in daylight, or expose themselves to some of the sun’s rays.

And that can play a role in our overall mood.

According to health and wellness website , exposure to sunlight is thought to increase the brain’s release of serotonin.

“Serotonin is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused,” the website said. “Adding a little sunshine to your life by getting outside can relieve anxiety, reduce depression, and help with other conditions.”

Without enough sun exposure, your serotonin levels can dip, which contributes to major depression with seasonal pattern, formally called seasonal affective disorder.

When sunlight hits our eyes, the retina triggers the release of serotonin, one of the body’s “feel-good hormones.”

Vitamin D absorption

Along with alleviating depression, anxiety or stress, exposing yourself to some extra sunshine can also boost the body’s vitamin D levels, through ultraviolet-B radiation.

Vitamin D plays a role in bone health.

According to the , getting five to 15 minutes of sunlight on uncovered arms, hands and face two to three times a week is enough to get the vitamin-D boosting benefits of the sun.

Circadian rhythm and sleep cycle

Like many animals, humans evolved with a distinct light-dark rhythm, helping our bodies align with waking and sleeping over a 24 hour period. That’s called circadian rhythm.

“Modern human light exposure has dramatically altered this pattern,” the authors of a said in a Science Direct article. “Electric lighting in homes and workplaces and the use of light-emitting electronic devices at night has blurred the distinction between day and night. People now spend most waking hours in intermediate, artificial lighting conditions, due to reduced sunlight exposure and relatively bright nighttime light exposure.”

Modern lighting can interrupt the natural circadian rhythm, which can also increase the risk of depression, the study noted.

For the study, 502,000 adults were encouraged to spend two-and-a-half hours outdoors in the sun.

Overall, they found greater time in outdoor light was associated with less odds of lifetime major depressive disorder, and also better mood and sleep measures.

“Our findings suggest that low daytime light exposure is an important environmental risk factor for mood, sleep, and circadian-related outcomes,” the study authors noted.