During the winter, it easy to get sad and depressed. When living under a constant cover of clouds and trudging through mountains of snow, it’s easy to miss the warm summer days that seem a world away. The depressing state caused by the lack of sunlight in the winter has commonly been called “the winter blues,” but for some people, the seasonal depression is a serious medical condition.
Seasonal affective disorder, know also by the ironic acronym SAD, is caused by a lack of sunlight in the winter months. This type of depression follows the seasons; winter depression starts in late fall and goes away by early spring. The lack of sunlight disrupts the body’s natural sleep cycle and circadian rhythms. It also causes problems with the brain chemical serotonin which affects moods.
The onset of SAD can be caused by geographical location, genetics, and/or stress. Around four to six percent of people have SAD and another ten to twenty percent have mild cases. The condition is also four times more common in women than men. Symptoms from SAD usually don’t appear until the age 20 and the chances of getting it decrease as a person ages. Also SAD is more common near the poles where there is less sunlight yearly. For example, SAD is seven times more common in the state of Washington than in Florida.
Common symptoms of SAD include change in appetite, weight gain, a heavy feeling in the arms or legs, a drop in energy level, fatigue, a tendency to oversleep, difficulty concentrating, irritability, increased sensitivity to social rejection, and an avoidance of social situations. These symptoms are present during the winter months then disappear for the rest of the year.
If a conscious effort to receive more sunlight isn’t enough to quell the symptoms of SAD, it may be suggested by a doctor for the patient to undergo light therapy. With light therapy the patient wears a special light visor or sits in front of a light box each day for 30 minutes during the winter. Light therapy has a high success rate in patients and few negative side effects.
As the winter months drag on, please remember to get as much sunlight as possible and keep dreaming of summer.