Do you have seasonal affective disorder?
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you → have → disorder
How to tell — and what to do about it
This story was originally published on Oct. 23, 2020, and has been updated.
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When psychiatrist Dr. Norman Rosenthal moved to the United States from South Africa in 1976, he felt less energetic during the harsh winters.
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Here's how to get through it
He noticed other people felt the same way.
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"Just like the autumn leaves, they became depressed on schedule," says Rosenthal.
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"In spring, the condition reverses itself."
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He studied the problem, and published the first research on the syndrome and coined the term seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, in 1984.
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About 1 in 20 people in the U.S. have SAD, and it typically lasts about 40% of the year, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
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If you have it, you may feel sluggish or depressed, oversleep, overeat, gain weight and be uninterested in doing things you previously enjoyed.
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Many more people have the winter blues, a milder version of SAD, where you feel like a sadder, sleepier or slower version of yourself.
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With winter just around the corner, here's why you may feel this way — what you can do to feel better.
1.
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For many people, SAD makes things feel difficult every fall when it gets darker earlier, but better in the bright days of spring and summer, Rosenthal says.
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One of Rosenthal's patients described themselves as feeling like a bear in the winter and wanting to hibernate.
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"So if you feel any identification with a hibernating bear, you might well have SAD," he says.
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While some people don't feel different at all when the seasons change, Rosenthal says others are quite disabled by it.
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People diagnosed with SAD, he says, are "people who would go to a doctor because the problem was bad enough."
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Rosenthal says it can be hard to recognize a pattern, because the symptoms creep up on you.
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It's a bit like the story of the frog in the bowl that keeps getting warmed up, and he doesn't realize he's going to die because it happens so incrementally.
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"
But, he says, recognizing your symptoms and taking them seriously are critical, because SAD can be debilitating or worse.
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2. Let there be light
A fundamental part of the physiology of this condition is that some people just need more light.
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One often recommended fix for this is a SAD lamp.
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Rosenthal says these lamps generate light that's far more intense than indoor lighting — about 10,000 lux, a measurement of light.
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This light is absorbed through the eyes, not the skin — but, he says, don't stare at it.
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Rosenthal says he places it so that the light is shining down on him, just like it would if it were a sunny day.
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"That's how we evolved to see light — with the heavens above and the sun shining down, so that it comes and hits the bottom part of our retina."
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He says if you use the lamp for about 20 to 30 minutes a day, you should feel a difference within two weeks.
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If you don't, return it.
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Studies suggest that the value of preventive light therapy is inconclusive and that it's really a patient's preference whether to use it or not.
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But as a treatment for those who have seasonal affective disorder, SAD lamps have made a big difference.
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Remember, even if you use a SAD lamp, make sure you are still trying to get as much natural light as possible.
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Go outside, even if you don't feel like it, because even when it appears overcast, you are getting light from the sun.
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Remember that small things can make a difference, so trim any overgrowth around your windows and clean the panes.
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Be thoughtful and consistent about what (and when) you eat
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Rosenthal says people with SAD have a tremendous appetite for carbohydrates.
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"They crave sweets and starches.
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And needless to say, that puts on weight, and they can't always take it off in the summer, so every year they're ratcheting up a little more, a little more, and it's a real problem.
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Emily Manoogian, a clinical researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, says people with SAD usually have a delay in their circadian rhythm, "these 24-hour rhythms we have within our body.
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"If you are eating, your body thinks it should be awake."
Make sure to stop eating three hours before you go to sleep, so your body knows to rest.
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By just controlling the time you eat and keeping it within a consistent 10- to 12-hour window, you're giving your body a strong cue to tell it the time of day, regardless of anything else that's going on.
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Make time for movement
Exercise is another environmental cue that helps signal to your internal clocks what time it is.
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…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
