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Vitamin D And Anxiety

When people suffer from anxiety, they often feel like prescription drugs are the only option to help them get any relief. What if I were to tell you that a compound everyone has heard of could be just as effective while being far safer though? The compound I am talking about is vitamin D, and it can be incredibly effective at both preventing and relieving anxiety, while not putting you at risk of developing any side effects.

In the following article, I am going to explain exactly how it achieves these results, to hopefully give you the information and confidence you need to ditch the drugs and get your anxiety under control in a totally safe and natural way.

Table of Contents

What Is Vitamin D?

Also known as cholecalciferol and “the sunshine vitamin”, Vitamin D is an essential, fat-soluble vitamin that is necessary for numerous functions in the human body to take place. Studies have shown that people need a minimum of 10 to 20 mcg of vitamin D per day for their bodies to function correctly, and supplementing with it can produce a great range of health benefits (1).

They include improved bone, brain, heart, and immune system health and functions, enhanced energy and testosterone production and levels, better male sexual health, blood sugar levels, muscle strength, and bone density, and a better ability to combat depression and various other health issues.

For anyone interested in reading more about how vitamin D produces these benefits, we have published not one but two articles explaining exactly how it does in great detail, which you can read here and here.

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What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress or perceived threats, and it can be both normal and helpful in certain situations, such as before an exam or presentation. It is usually triggered by a specific event or situation, although it can also occur without an obvious cause, and can produce a variety of symptoms, the majority of which will be fairly mild for most people.

These include feelings of worry, fear, nervousness, dread, restlessness, irritability, or being on edge, an increased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, muscle tension, stomach issues, headaches, difficulty sleeping or concentrating, racing thoughts, and overthinking.

In some cases though, anxiety becomes persistent or overwhelming, the symptoms become intense and interfere with your daily life, work, and relationships, and quickly spiral into an anxiety disorder that requires treatment.

These disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), which causes excessive, uncontrollable worry, even when there is no reason to be anxious. Panic Disorder, which causes recurrent panic attacks involving intense fear and physical symptoms like chest pain, heart palpitations, or dizziness. Social Anxiety, which causes an intense fear of social situations and leaves people feeling like they are being judged or embarrassed, and Phobias, where people develop an extreme fear of a specific object, situation, or activity.

The most common forms of treatment for anxiety are cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), lifestyle changes, relaxation techniques, prescription medications, and supplements (2).

How Does Vitamin D Help With Anxiety?

Promotes Serotonin Production

Perhaps the most effective way in which vitamin D helps to combat anxiety is due to its ability to enhance your mood. This occurs as it promotes the production and release of certain neurotransmitters, including serotonin. A neurotransmitter that influences mood, low serotonin levels are often linked to anxiety and depression.

By not letting your vitamin D levels drop, you will support serotonin production, improve your mood, and reduce anxiety, making vitamin D supplementation a great way to reduce the risk of anxiety or combat a case that has already developed (3).

Produces Anti-Inflammatory Effects

Chronic inflammation has been linked to various mental health issues, including anxiety. As vitamin D is well-known to possess potent anti-inflammatory properties, supplementing with it can help reduce the levels of inflammation in the body and repair any damage that it has caused, lowering the risk of anxiety and other mood disorders, while relieving the symptoms they may have already caused (4).

Learn about Vitamin D3 and Influenza Here

Enhances Brain Health & Functions

Vitamin D is capable of boosting brain health and functions in many ways, as Vitamin D receptors are found throughout the brain. The most direct way in which this benefits those with anxiety is because it aids emotional regulation, balancing brain chemistry, and reducing how anxious a person feels.

It is then also well known to possess neuroprotective properties that protect the brain from any damage and reduce inflammation and oxidative stress on the brain cells, which can lead to anxiety and many other mental health conditions and neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

Vitamin D also stimulates a process called neurogenesis, which promotes the growth of new neurons in parts of the brain like the hippocampus and repairs any damage that has already occurred and may be causing your anxiety, as well as issues like memory loss.

This combination of effects also generally improves a person’s cognitive health and functions, memory, attention, and problem-solving skills, all of which are very beneficial for someone suffering from anxiety (5).

Regulates The Stress Response

Some studies suggest that vitamin D influences the body’s response to stress by affecting your levels of cortisol, which is a steroid hormone released during stress. By reducing your cortisol levels, vitamin D supplementation can help the body respond to stress in a far more balanced way, potentially reducing anxiety or even preventing it from developing in the first place (6).

Improves Sleep Quality

Recent studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common causes of poor sleep quality. As poor sleep quality is a very common trigger for anxiety, ensuring that you have adequate vitamin D levels can improve sleep quality, as well as sleep latency and your sleep-wake cycle, and help prevent or reduce anxiety in the process (7).