Seasonal Affective Disorder

By Kayla Young

During High School, it started to get bad. I couldn’t wake up in the winter, no matter what. And those first few hours of class were just impossible. The Winter Doldrums.

But during the spring and summer, when the light shone late and night and early in the morning, I was fine, running in tip-top shape.

It got worse when I arrived at college.

During my time at university, I learned about Seasonal Affective Disorder, commonly abbreviated as SAD. I found an almost perfect match between my symptoms and the description of SAD.

The good news is that a few small lifestyle changes can make a huge difference during the cold months. I just needed to figure out how to implement them.

Resisting the Winter Blues

My research into how to combat SAD led me to the most important task: to get outside during the winter and absorb as much of that weak, distant winter sun as possible.

Who wants to be outside in the cold, grey winter, though? I much prefer to shelter inside with a book and some coffee. And I never enjoyed winter sports. But I didn’t really need them.

Sunlight Exposure

I found that I needed to get outside as much as I could and let eyes and skin soak up that vitamin-D-laced UVB radiation.

Most of us are aware that vitamin D is connected to sun exposure and seasonal depression. But we need to worry about more than just Vitamin D.

Other biomarkers like Nitrous Oxide (NO) levels impact our health and are improved with sun exposure.

Fortunately, the sun is weak during the winter, and the UV Index is usually below 3.

This means that it is safe to be outside without sunscreen, assuming you’re not in a highly reflective area like a ski slope. Don’t be foolish and get a sunburn in the winter, though!

Whenever the weather isn’t terrible, I try to get outside during the cold months.

Many who work in offices don’t get much sun during winter. We arrive at our jobs just at dawn, and dusk has past hours before we leave. The solution is to go outside at lunch.

Going outside during lunch or forcing myself to take a walk during a break is a must. It’s the best way to get sun on exposed skin. Yes, that means no scarf and ideally no hat.

Vitamin D Supplementation

Some find vitamin D supplementation to be helpful, but there’s a whole lot of confusing science on it right now. It seems that vitamin D supplementation doesn’t help at all at combating Seasonal Depression (or much of anything else).

However, there is new evidence of significant statistical errors in previous vitamin D studies.

These errors caused the recommended dose of vitamin D to be far too low. It’s possible that studies of higher doses of vitamin D will prove more effective in fighting Seasonal Affective Disorder, but more research must be done.

Exercise

Exercise always seems to help the mood, no matter what the condition. And if the exercise is outside during the winter, it’s even better.

A brisk run or hike to get the blood flowing is never a bad thing. It’s often easier to get outside during the winter when you’re out for a run or hike. You’ll stay warmer when you’re moving, and it’s easier to withstand the cold.

Sure, that gym class sounds so appealing in the winter, but you won’t be getting any sun exposure from it.

Diet and Healthy Eating

With the winter months comes the parade of holidays, holiday meals, holiday parties, sweets, pies, cakes, candies, chocolate, cookies, and more. It’s an onslaught that’s hard to resist.

Keeping a close eye on your sugar intake during the winter is wise, though difficult.

Whether you’re paleo, vegan, carnivore, or whatever, no diet considers those sweets to be a healthy choice. And careful food consumption seems to connect to so many improvements in mood and health. Best to keep your consumption down, and balance with as much exercise as you can.

Indoor Lighting and SAD Lamps

Yes, SAD lamps are an easy way to find relief from seasonal depression. Getting exposed to the standard 10,000 lux dose of light early in the morning does seem to improve SAD symptoms for many people. And these lights work for me as well. But they’re a bit unwieldy.

The biggest problem is that you’re supposed to sit 12-18″ from your light for 30 minutes each morning, with the light positioned above your head so that it shines down into your eyes.

In order to get a full dose, you’re supposed to stay seated for 30 min each morning in that position.

But who has the time to do that?

Getting out the door in the morning is often the most stressful time of day, especially for those with families and kids.

And in order to get that 30 minutes of light exposure, you have to wake up 30 minutes early. That means less sleep, which isn’t good either!

Light Therapy Glasses

I’ve found that light therapy glasses work pretty well as a substitute for SAD lamps.

These glasses work on a similar principle to SAD lamps. They shine a blue/green wavelength light into your eyes for 30 minutes.

This wavelength of light has been found to be equally effective to a full-spectrum light, and you can absorb it from up close without feeling like your eyes are getting blasted with light.

Plus, you can move around and go about your morning routine without hassle.

Conclusion

Though products like light therapy boxes and glasses are effective at combatting seasonal depression, I’ve found that they’re not the best place to start.

Instead, start with the sun, and work to get some real solar exposure every day if possible. Add in exercise as well, and you’ll be 75% of the way there.

If you’re still in need of more aid, then light therapy devices like SAD lamps and light therapy glasses are certainly worth a shot.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is treatable, and a few relatively small changes can make a big difference.

If you wish to read more about my SAD journey, or about Light Therapy in general, you can find me at LuxeLuminous.com.

Author Bio

Kayla Young is Content Production Manager with LuxeLuminous

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect all or some of our beliefs and policy.  Any links on this page does not necessarily mean they have been endorsed by Defying Mental Illness.

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