Scientists have identified a genetic factor that causes mood deterioration in the winter. The factor, which "regulates" a person's mood depending on sleep patterns, daylight hours, and other factors, was discovered by researchers at Tyumen State Medical University as part of an international scientific team.

The findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

In winter, as the days shorten, the body's internal clock gets out of sync. The body starts to misinterpret the time of day, leading many people to feel a lack of energy and mood deterioration. However, as soon as our "biological sensors" start receiving more light, psychological well-being improves, explained scientists at Tyumen State Medical University.

Researchers from the university, along with scientists from Petrozavodsk, Syktyvkar, Novosibirsk, as well as from Germany, the US, and Switzerland, identified the light-sensing gene (REV-ERBα), which regulates not only mood and sleep based on lighting but also sugar metabolism, immune function, and inflammatory responses.

This gene could become a target for new medications for winter depression, as well as for reducing the risk of obesity and diabetes, explained Professor Denis Gubin, head of the Chronobiology Laboratory at the University Research Institute of Biomedical Technologies at Tyumen State Medical University.