Welcome to Wellness on Mass. I'm Dr. Nicole Sapphire, and this is where we are going to peel back the layers of modern health and really just get real about what your body and soul needs to thrive.

Today we're going to shine a light on something that I've recently learned about. Have you ever heard of October theory?

No, I'm not talking about orange theory. Don't get those

confused. Orange theory, I guess I think those are those little pop-up gyms and it's an exercise

regimen. Now, what I'm talking about is October theory. And apparently it's a real thing because I've

been reading about it. Some call it the October effect. And essentially what it is,

it's that the idea that as the daylight hours start shrinking, you know, we have the shorter days,

less sunshine, it has a lot of effect on our body. Now, we already knew this. This is nothing new.

But what's interesting about the October theory that kids are going back to school and people

are back at work and these regimented schedules, people are actually more motivated to make changes

specifically for their health and wellness right now in October than they were, say, during the

summer months.

And by the way, is it ever really too early to start preparing that bikini body for

those summer months? Time starts right now. So let's talk about October theory and what are some

things that we should be doing as we head into these shorter, darker months. Well, one of the

most important things to understand is how the shorter, darker days actually affects us. I know you've heard of seasonal

effective disorder and maybe you're like me as there's less sunshine. You find yourself being a little

bit more sluggish, a little bit more moody as you're heading into the holidays, we're eating a lot more.

I'm telling you, your body is actually working

against you. It's not just all on your brain, although your brain is part of the problem right now.

So when we think of the sunlight, when sunlight hits your skin, it actually triggers a natural

chemical reaction that converts cholesterol in the skin into vitamin D. Now you've heard me talk about

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