Do you have a vitamin D deficiency? Answer these 5 questions to find out

If you’re constantly wiping your forehead in the morning (despite hitting the snooze button for the most strenuous of reasons), low vitamin D levels may be to blame. “A sweaty head is one of the first classic signs of vitamin D deficiency,” says Holick. While you only get a small amount from your diet, eating foods rich in vitamin D like salmon, egg yolks, and canned tuna can boost your levels and help keep you even drier.

Along with calcium, vitamin D is essential for a strong skeleton. A vitamin D deficiency causes your body to leach calcium from your bones and dump it into your bloodstream, increasing your risk of fractures. Holick’s research shows that a D deficiency can even speed up or worsen the progression of osteoporosis. This is especially true for runners. Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery It turns out that people who take part in high-impact activities may need more vitamin D than the average person to prevent stress fractures.

This nutrient is essential for keeping your immune system thriving, so if your nose is running and you’re sneezing a lot, it’s not enough to just stock up on tissues. Internal Medicine Archives They found that adults with lower vitamin D levels were more likely to report having a recent cold, cough, or upper respiratory infection. This may explain why people are more susceptible to the flu in the winter, when vitamin D from sunlight is at its lowest. Holick recommends sitting for a few minutes each day one foot away from a sperty lamp, an FDA-approved lamp that emits UVB rays that naturally produce vitamin D in the body.

Depression and vitamin D deficiency often go together, and the Vitamin D Council believes the mineral may act on areas of the brain associated with depression or affect mood-boosting hormones like serotonin.