Fewer hours of daylight in the Fall can cause symptoms of sadness and depression.

Dr. Denis Fortier from Southern Health Santé Sud says over the years there has been a repeating pattern of people feeling down in the Fall. "Shorter days and longer nights affect some people for sure. I would say the biggest health result would be seasonal depression or what's called Seasonal Affective Disorder."

Fortier says symptoms may include feeling sluggish, low energy levels, a desire to sleep more, a desire to eat more especially carbohydrates, trouble waking up in the morning, and weight gain.

"The first thing is to recognize it. It's most likely due to the reduction of light at this time of year. Light gets into our eyes, it's the gateway to the brain almost directly. It causes a photo-chemical reaction that activates our brain to produce certain hormones, and if you have enough of them, it can prevent depression."

The symptoms can occur as early as late August, but for some, Fortier says they do quite well and only run out of steam sometime after Christmas. He says the solution would be to increase the amount of light in your life.

"The amount of light needs to be a minimum of 10,000 L.U.X. (or the light intensity unit) for 30-60 minutes daily. As an example, if you are walking outside on a sunny day that would be about 100,000 L.U.X."

To either treat or prevent Seasonal Affective Disorder, Fortier suggests staying active and increasing your daily exercise, exposing yourself to light therapy, or even going outside in the middle of the day for a walk.