Winter Blues

When days become shorter and the weather makes outdoor activities less appealing, we may feel our energy wane and the urge to hibernate.

Resist.

Keeping up with activities and hobbies and continuing to eat a healthy diet and get adequate sleep can help fend off these feelings.

“The average person with some seasonality can try really hard to stay in their routines,” says Dr. Kelly J. Rohan, a psychology professor at the University of Vermont, and a researcher of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Those routines don’t have to include spending significant time outdoors, but should be maintained as they are “natural antidepressants,” she adds.

For those experiencing heavier symptoms, some may wonder if SAD is affecting them.

SAD is clinical depression, Rohan says.

“The only difference is the seasonal pattern,” she explains. “It has to have a really clear pattern.”

Rohan warns against self-diagnosis. Symptoms exist on a continuum, and most people experience at least some of them, if only mildly, at some time, she adds.

“SAD would be the extreme end of the continuum,” she says.

In this state, the symptoms interfere with relationships and basic life functions such as attending school or working.

If someone is experiencing mild symptoms or not all symptoms, in addition to maintaining routines and activities, self-care might include a morning walk outside after the sun is up, Rohan says. Getting light to our retinas resets our circadian rhythm, the natural process that governs our sleep-wake cycles.

If symptoms do become overwhelming and interfere with life functions, professional help should be sought. Light therapy is one treatment that can be prescribed at specific doses, that being the time spent under the lights and with what frequency. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to light therapy, but it is common for a person to begin with 30 minutes during the morning, she explains.

Antidepressants may be prescribed, and cognitive behavioral therapy is also a treatment. Rohan has been researching the effectiveness of CBT in treating SAD compared to light therapy in clinical trials.

Rohan notes that although less daylight can trigger the increased number of SAD cases seen during winter, the condition can occur in any season.