Vitamin D and Depression: Can It Help?
Mental Health ConditionsDepression

Can Vitamin D Help Treat Depression?

Can Vitamin D Help Treat Depression?
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Updated on July 16, 2026
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Nicknamed “the sunshine vitamin,” vitamin D’s moniker is enough to bring a smile to your face. And as it turns out, vitamin D might help boost your mood in other ways too.

In one review of 41 randomized controlled trials, researchers found that people who took vitamin D supplements saw reduced symptoms of depression, though they wrote that the results had very low certainty. Another review of 20 studies found that taking vitamin D supplements moderately improved depressive symptoms, compared with not taking the supplements.

“There is some research to show that our levels of vitamin D can impact cognitive function ... and also that vitamin D [supplementation] may help improve symptoms of depression in people who already have a deficiency,” says Marisa Moore, RDN, an integrative and culinary dietitian in Atlanta.

Here’s how to tell whether you’re getting too little vitamin D, and how to increase your intake if you’re living with depression.

Who’s Getting Too Little Vitamin D?

About 25 percent of adults in the United States are deficient in vitamin D, according to research. “How much you get depends on where you live,” says Abbie Gellman, RD, a nutritionist in New York City and the author of The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook.

For example, people who live in the northern half of the United States — approximately in or north of cities such as San Francisco, Denver, St. Louis, and Richmond, Virginia — are unlikely to soak up enough vitamin D from sunlight, she says.

Add to that the fact that vitamin D is found naturally in only a few foods, including fatty fish (like salmon and tuna), and in smaller amounts in egg yolks, mushrooms, cheese, and beef liver. Fortified foods, including cow’s milk, milk alternatives (like soy and oat), and many cereals, have much more of the fat-soluble vitamin.

To find out if you’re low in vitamin D, you’ll need to get a blood test. A result of 30 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) or under is too low, and anything over 125 nmol/L is too high. Aim for 50 nmol/L or above.

Some people are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, including those with darker skin. Darker skin contains more melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color, and more melanin makes it harder for skin to produce the vitamin from sunlight.

People who are lactose intolerant (those who have trouble consuming lactose, a sugar found in milk and milk products), may also be less likely to get enough vitamin D, because fortified milk is an important dietary source of it. In the United States, African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans are more likely to be lactose intolerant than people of European descent.

Other groups at higher risk include:

  • Older adults (as we age, our skin doesn’t synthesize vitamin D as efficiently)
  • People with obesity or who have had gastric bypass surgery (they may need higher amounts of vitamin D)
  • Anyone who has difficulty absorbing fat, such as those with inflammatory bowel disease or celiac disease (this will also cause issues with vitamin D absorption)
  • People who do not spend time outdoors or do not expose their skin to sunlight

Should You Take a Vitamin D Supplement for Depression?

The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements recommends that adults ages 19 to 70 get 15 micrograms (600 international units, or IU) of vitamin D daily. (You may be getting this amount already if you take a multivitamin.) But before you take anything, be sure to speak with your doctor.

It’s possible to get too much vitamin D from supplements, and very high levels in your blood can cause nausea, muscle weakness, confusion, loss of appetite, excessive urination and thirst, and kidney stones, among other symptoms. Extremely high levels can cause the kidneys to fail or lead to death. You can’t get too much of the nutrient from sun exposure, however; your body limits how much of the vitamin it produces.

“I like for people to get a blood test to see where they are before making a recommendation about supplementation,” says Moore.

If you do need extra vitamin D, either D2 (ergocalciferol) or D3 (cholecalciferol) will work. You may need 1,000 to 2,000 IU daily, though this will depend on the results of your blood test, what season it is, and how much sun exposure you get.

 (Vitamin D2 is derived from plants, whereas vitamin D3 is synthesized from animal sources.)

 In cases of extreme deficiency, your doctor may give you vitamin D injections to bring your levels up.

Start by getting more D from sunlight and fortified foods, such as milk alternatives and cereals, if you can. “In order for vitamin D to be well absorbed, it needs to be taken with a source of fat,” Moore says.

When it comes to increasing your time in the sun, it’s best to ask your doctor how many minutes you’ll need. That’s because a number of factors come into play, including your skin tone, where you live, the time of day you’re going outside, and the time of the year.

While using sunscreen, which is crucial for preventing skin cancer, may seem counterintuitive when you’re trying to get the ultraviolet B (UVB) rays needed to produce vitamin D, one small study found that sunscreen applied at less-than-ideal (and closer to real-life) concentrations didn’t inhibit vitamin D production in the body. And other studies on real-life conditions found that regular sunscreen users didn’t have significantly reduced vitamin D levels.

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Allison Young, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist providing services via telehealth throughout New York and Florida.

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Resources
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