Posted: Jun 11, 2013 4:53 pm
laklak wrote:There is some statistical evidence that those with darker eye colors are more likely to suffer from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) than those with lighter eyes. Also, there is some evidence that the genes responsible for eye color are linked in some way to those controlling skin color, but the short answer is no one really knows, yet, what selection pressures were active. I'd imagine others here have more information on it.
http://www.wonderquest.com/eye-color-evolution.htm
That's really interesting, lak, about SAD. So there may be some truth to the poetic cliché of "sad brown eyes".
I wonder if there is a direct cause responsible for both, or whether it's that certain lines of ancestry that tend to have brown eyes have settled in certain places and that something about those places and the life there brings about a higher incidence of SAD. (It might not even be the seasons that are the direct cause.)
It's something I'm interested in because a minor component of my bipolar depression seems to be related to seasons. Curiously for me, it's reversed: I feel much worse during summer, and I hate heat and bright sunlight. I have brown eyes; I have no idea if that means anything or not.