As balmy summer days give way to crisp autumn nights, carefree summer attitudes often dwindle as the shorter days creep in. Although it is natural to feel nostalgia for bygone afternoon barbecues and lazy days by the pool, the change in weather can seriously affect your mood and your life. Seasonal affective disorder (with its all-too-appropriate acronym, SAD) is a mood disorder that affects about 4 to 6 percent of the general American population during the winter months.
Spotting SAD can be deceptively difficult. Cold weather and less daylight can make all of us feel like sleeping more and eating carbohydrate-rich foods, as well as making us feel a little more temperamental than usual. Even the healthiest of people can feel bummed when the seasons change. If you (or a friend), however, have had disturbances in mood or motivation that interfere with health or livelihood, you could be dealing with SAD. Usually SAD refers to depressive symptoms that occur exclusively during the fall or winter, but occasionally may refer to symptoms of unusually elevated mood or agitation that occur during the summer.
The science behind SAD is still not totally clear, but it is most likely related to the effect of light on transmitters in the brain that regulate mood and sleep. Serotonin, made well-known by its link to major depression, is responsible for regulating mood. New research suggests that people who are susceptible to SAD may have lower levels of serotonin than everyone else during the winter months, but surprisingly normal levels during the summer months. Scientists believe light may actually aid in serotonin production, so when light levels are low during winter, people may produce less serotonin than during the sunny months of summer.
A second player in the theory behind SAD is melotonin, a hormone produced in the brain that regulates our sleep-wake cycle. When light hits your retina, it keeps the production of melatonin at bay. Thus, during the summer, you’ll have plenty of energy to run around during the long daylight hours; however, when winter rolls in and daylight is hard to come by, melatonin production gears up, and this can make you feel lethargic and down. In addition, your circadian rhythm (i.e., internal clock) can be thrown off by the change in seasons, which can also leave you feeling groggy and depressed.
What to do if you suspect SAD might be making you sad? One key to feeling better is maximizing your exposure to sunlight. Get outside, open the blinds and roll back the sunroof. Even better, take a walk, since exercise itself has beneficial effects on mood and self-esteem (and you can soak up the sun at the same time). Spend time with people you care about and do your best to keep doing the things you normally do, even though it may be cold outside. Eating healthily and keeping a regular sleep schedule may also help temper mood changes.
It may also be time to get help from a professional who knows how to treat SAD. The mainstays of therapy these days are behavioral (as described above), medication and light exposure therapy. For the latter, you can use either full-spectrum light bulbs or light boxes to increase your total light exposure and perhaps realign your sleep-wake cycles.
With the impending holiday season, exam schedule and political pandemonium, winter will be stressful enough as it is. If you think you might be struggling with SAD, seek out lifelines and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talk to someone — a friend or professional counselor or doctor — so you don’t have to go at it alone. If you’re worried about a friend, try to talk to him or her, or at least point him or her in the right direction. You might just be the light at the end of a cold, dark tunnel.
Emily is a University Medical student. She can be reached at e.graham@cavalierdaily.com.
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