BUYING a property on Spain's coasts or islands could help alleviate winter depression – it's official.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) as a result of lack of daylight is surprisingly common, leading to lethargy, feeling gloomy and craving junk food, since natural light raises cortisol levels in the brain and leads to better concentration, mental sharpness and feelings of wellbeing.
In fact, the Online Psychology Degree website says exposure to additional daylight alleviates symptoms for between 50% and 80% of SAD sufferers.
Add to this that the Mediterranean and southern areas of Spain, and even the Canary Islands which are an hour behind, have record amounts of annual sunshine, including when the weather is cold, a break on the Costas could be the key to beating winter blues.
According to www.holiday-weather.com, the east coast from Castellón to Almería has the most sunlight at 325 days a year, and other sources reveal that the Balearic Islands and the southern coast of Andalucía have an average of 300 days of sunshine per year.
Even though this does not mean beach and pool weather year-round, these areas still have milder winters than northern Europe and sunlight instead of grey skies makes life easier to bear in the chillier months of the year.
The vast majority of property buyers who choose Spain say the better weather is one of the many factors they opt for either a holiday home or permanent residence there.
And cloudy skies and dark nights elsewhere in the northern hemisphere could well have something to do with the fact that sales of homes in Spain have risen in the last month, pushing property values up.
Foreign buyers shelled out just over €6 billion on property in Spain between January and September inclusive last year, according to the country's ministry of public works and infrastructure, a rise of 30% on the same period in 2013.
They accounted for 13% of homes bought in Spain in 2014, the ministry reveals, and British purchasers continue to lead the way with 17% of non-Spaniards buying a home in the country being from the UK.
The weather aspect means that, not surprisingly, the regions of Andalucía and Valencia were the most popular with buyers - areas that include the Costa del Sol, Costa Tropical and Costa de la Luz in the case of the former, and Costa Blanca, Costa del Azahar and the Gulf of Valencia in the case of the latter.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com