Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a depression that afflicts people primarily during the winter months, and is often referred to as seasonal depression. Seasonal Affective Disorder was discovered in the early eighties by the National Institute of Health. The NIH estimates that over 36 million Americans suffer depressive symptoms brought on by the winter months. Seasonal Affective Disorder causes you to feel down, gloomy, and lose energy. You may have difficulty concentrating and feeling alert, withdraw socially and have carbohydrate cravings. Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferers also experience sleep problems.

Seasonal Affective Disorder vs. Winter Blues

Although often confused with the ‘winter blues,’ Seasonal Affective Disorder and Winter Blues are not the same. Seasonal Affective Disorder is manifested by symptoms of clinical depression, with impaired social interaction and cognitive ability. On the other hand, Winter Blues is milder than SAD and is typified by the lack of energy and feeling sad or down. If you have the winter blues, you can still function. If you have Seasonal Affective Disorder, normal daily functions are difficult to perform. Although Seasonal Affective Disorder and Winter Blues differ in the degree of severity, the treatment is the same for both conditions.

What causes Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Researchers agree that the lack of sunlight in the fall and winter causes the effects of seasonal depression. Without sunlight, the brain doesn't produce enough serotonin, which results in the symptoms of depression. The darker days also signal the brain to overproduce the hibernation hormone, melatonin. The symptoms diminish as the days get longer, although many Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferers note brief (1-2 week) periods of SAD-like symptoms in the summer.

Seasonal Affective Disorder Treatment

Light Therapy

The NIH has demonstrated that specialized bright light (a large field of 10,000 lux intensity) to be the most effective means of reversing the effects of this winter depression. Light therapy produces serotonin in the brain, and researchers believe low serotonin levels contribute to depression. Since this discovery, scientists have successfully used bright light to treat non-seasonal depression as well as other mood disorders with light therapy.

Light also suppresses the hibernation hormone melatonin. This is important, because melatonin forces us to pull back, conserve and sleep. Melatonin secretion is necessary during the night, but daytime melatonin can be harmful. By suppressing melatonin during the daytime, our activity cycle is extended, and we actually sleep better at night.

Light resets Circadian Rhythms

Scientists also believe that Seasonal Affective Disorder is associated with shifted circadian rhythms (i.e. body clock). The body clock regulates our daily activity cycles, and it needs bright light signals to reset itself each day. When it doesn't receive this signal, it can malfunction. This can affect how you sleep and feel during the day. If you have difficulty waking up, or you fall asleep and wake up at the wrong time, you may have a circadian rhythm disorder.

SAD Lights: Light Boxes vs. SAD Lamps

Since the discovery that light therapy was the most effective treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder, researchers and manufacturers have sought to create the ideal light box or SAD lamp. Generally light boxes have been the preferred devices because they can produce a diffuse field of full spectrum, 10,000-lux light. Since light boxes produce a much larger field of bright light than SAD lamps, more photoreceptors in the eye are subject to exposure. This phenomenon, called spatial summation is an important factor in light therapy. When searching for SAD lights, one should consider whether the light box or SAD lamp can produce a large, diffuse field of 10,000 lux light at an effective distance of 15 inches or more.

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