Quick fix for winter blues

Do you start feeling sad as the days get shorter in winter – and now, in your 40s and 50s, does it hit harder or last longer than it used to? Do you get more tired, lose your motivation, avoid friends and family, eat more starch and sugar and quietly put on weight? This winter cluster of low mood, fatigue, carb‑craving and social withdrawal is associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that shows up at the same time each year, typically starting in autumn or winter and easing in spring or early summer.

For many women, perimenopause and menopause amplify this pattern. Falling and fluctuating oestrogen change how your brain uses serotonin – the neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, appetite, sleep and pain – at exactly the time when shorter days are already pushing serotonin down. No wonder so many midlife women feel that winter hits them in a way it never did before.

Menopause, serotonin and winter moods

The pathway to making serotonin starts with the amino acid tryptophan (you might be familiar with the supplement 5‑HTP, 5‑hydroxytryptophan) and branches out to make melatonin and vitamin B3 (niacin). Melatonin helps regulate the sleep‑wake cycle, serotonin regulates appetite, sleep, mood and pain, while niacin is needed for energy metabolism and DNA production.

Oestrogen normally supports serotonin in several ways: it increases serotonin synthesis, boosts receptor sensitivity and helps regulate how serotonin is taken back up and broken down in key brain regions involved in mood. When oestrogen fluctuates wildly in perimenopause or falls more consistently after menopause, this support is withdrawn. Serotonin signalling becomes more fragile – which is why perimenopausal women are significantly more likely to experience depressive symptoms than women who are not in the transition.

Add winter to that mix – less light, more circadian disruption, poorer sleep – and the serotonin system can start to struggle on two fronts at once. Result: winter feels heavier, greyer, more sugar‑driven and harder to climb out of.

Tryptophan: where your serotonin story begins

You can see in the diagram below that what determines whether tryptophan ends up making antidepressant serotonin and brain‑protective melatonin, or the brain‑toxic quinolinic acid, is influenced by:

• nutritional status (especially protein, iron, B6, B3, magnesium)  
• stress and cortisol  
• inflammation  
• physical activity  

Adapted from petersmith.co.uk, using Biorender

On top of that, tryptophan is best derived from animal protein, so a low‑protein diet can create a tryptophan shortfall right at the top of the chain. Turkey, chicken, eggs, fish and good‑quality meat are all rich sources. Turkey in particular is famously high in tryptophan – perhaps that’s one reason we instinctively centre it in Christmas feasts.

In menopause women often undereat protein (and overeat fast carbs) just as the brain is asking for more metabolic and neurotransmitter support. Bringing tryptophan‑rich foods back to centre stage can be a simple but powerful winter‑plus‑menopause intervention. You can also take tryptophan or 5-HTP as supplements.

Light: the other half of the serotonin story

The lack of sunlight in winter has an additive negative effect on mood and energy, which is why the classic therapy for SAD is exposure to bright light. Light can be roughly divided into ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. The most effective wavelength for helping SAD – and for nudging serotonin and melatonin back into a better rhythm – is bright, blue‑enriched light in the morning.

In diurnal humans:

• Morning blue light helps increase daytime serotonin and suppresses melatonin so you feel awake.  
• Evening blue light (from phones, tablets, laptops) does the opposite of what you want – it blocks melatonin, delays your body clock and disrupts sleep. I use blue-light blocking glasses about 20 minutes before I want to fall asleep and they work like magic.

This matters at menopause because circadian rhythms and melatonin are often already disturbed by night sweats, insomnia and stress. One study in peri‑ and post‑menopausal women with depression found that a combined sleep‑and‑light intervention that shifted melatonin rhythms earlier significantly improved mood within weeks. In other words, in a menopausal brain, light timing is not a wellness extra – it’s part of how you stabilise mood.

How to use light therapeutically

Light‑emitting devices are widely available. For therapeutic benefit in SAD and winter‑exacerbated low mood, standard guidance is:

• 10,000 lux of bright white or blue‑enriched light  
• 20–30 minutes in the morning  
• at a distance of about 20–30 cm from your eyes  

Benefits can appear within days: many people report a dramatic improvement in energy, sleep and mood with regular use. In perimenopause and menopause, this can also help anchor a more stable circadian rhythm, which then feeds forward into better sleep, appetite regulation and stress resilience – all of which support serotonin.

Tryptophan’s wild child

All cells and organs of the body, and especially of the brain, are affected by tryptophan and the serotonin system. Interestingly many other compounds are synthesised from tryptophan, including 

• Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms;
• DMT: this occurs in many species of plants and is commonly used as a hallucinogen via drinking or smoking. It may have a potential role as a neuroprotectant and/or neuroregenerative agent;
• Bufotenin: a DMT analog, this molecule is found in mushrooms, plants, and the skin and venom of toads (Bufo genus);
• 5-MeO-DMT: this molecule is widely distributed in plants and toads, and thought to be used in shamanic purposes, tribal ceremonies, and healing rituals in South America and the Caribbean;
• Ergot, ergotamine: this parent compound of the major hallucinogen LSD has long been known to be produced by a fungus, genus Claviceps. LSD was synthesised by the chemist Albert Hofmann and is believed to be one of the most potent mind-altering compounds discovered to date;
• Ibogaine: this is found in a number of plants, principally in a member of the dogbane family known as iboga (Tabernanthe iboga). This is a dissociative psychedelic that may show promise in treating alcohol addiction;
• Yohimbine: this is found in the bark of the West African evergreen Pausinystalia yohimbe Pierre. In Africa, yohimbine has traditionally been used as an aphrodisiac.

All these compounds can function as antioxidants in single-cell organisms and many have been used by by humankind for thousands of years as:

• empathogens – drugs that produce experiences of emotional communion, oneness, relatedness, emotional openness—that is, empathy or sympathy, and 
• entheogens – psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behaviour for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwise in sacred contexts.

Serotonin has a special relationship with sunlight that began to emerge at the beginning of life on Earth and this is the magic elixir that helps to maintain our homeostasis between body, mind and spirit, improving our internal and social interactions..

From SAD to glad in menopause: practical levers

Putting this together:

Feed the pathway: Ensure regular intake of tryptophan‑rich, high‑quality protein (turkey, chicken, eggs, fish, meat) plus the co‑factors (B6, B3, magnesium, iron) that help convert it into serotonin and melatonin. Tryptophan and 5-HTP supplements are widely available and very effective.

Use light as medicine: Morning: 20–30 minutes of bright, blue‑enriched light (10,000 lux box or genuine outdoor daylight) soon after waking.  Evening: dim, warm light and ruthless reduction of blue light from screens in the 2 hours before bed.  

Protect sleep and circadian rhythm:

• Fixed wake‑time, even on weekends, is often more useful than chasing the “perfect” bedtime, especially in peri‑ and post‑menopause.
• Turn down inflammation and stress 
• Movement, blood‑sugar stability, and nervous‑system supports (breath, boundaries, rest) reduce the inflammatory pull of the tryptophan pathway towards quinolinic acid and push it back towards serotonin and melatonin.  

In menopause, when the old oestrogen‑driven system is stepping back, light, protein and circadian rhythm become some of the most powerful, non‑pharmaceutical levers you have for shifting from SAD to something closer to glad.

So tryp out on light (and turkey) – especially now, when your midlife brain and body are rewriting the rules.