Winter blues or something more? Psychiatrist says less sunlight in the winter can affect mood – Houston Public Media

As the sun starts to set earlier during the winter months, a poll from the American Psychiatric Association finds almost 4 in 10 Americans experience a decline in their mood.

The decline has been called the “winter blues” before, and in some cases it can be a form of depression. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the winter blues can usually be caused by holiday stress or the reminder of a lost loved one.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) however, mostly affects women in their 20s and becomes less common around the age of 50, according to Dr. Melanie Longhurst with Texas Tech’s Health Sciences Center in El Paso. She said a person might realize they have more than the winter blues because of symptoms like fatigue, hopelessness, and irritation.

“[Symptoms are] occurring almost every day. If you’re feeling like this loss of interest in things that were normally pleasurable or exciting,” she added.

Longhurst said SAD is still being researched, but it’s theorized to be partly caused by the lack of sunlight during the winter.

“Because of the patterns related to the seasons, it’s believed that it has to do with the light, because it’s starting to get darker early, a lot of people are stuck inside when it’s cold,” she said.

The sunlight impacts the circadian rhythm of the body, which regulates sleep, food, and hormones, Longhurst said. Patients with SAD might even go through light therapies.

“There’s a special lamp that has a certain type of lighting that kind of mimics the light that we’re no longer able to see,” she said. “… if you’re living in a cloudy region, that light exposure can really be helpful.”

Longhurst said the weather can also play a factor because as the temperature gets colder, people might exercise less and eat more. She said in the United States, people living in northern states might be more likely to experience SAD than those in southern ones like Texas.

“People kind of living farther north or south from the equator, they tend to experience less sunlight during the winter,” she said.

According to the NIH, about 1% of the population in Florida is likely to suffer from SAD while closer to 10% of people in Alaska might be affected.

Longhurst said for those who experience SAD, she wants them to know they are not alone.

“This happens to many people, there’s actually a name and diagnosis for it,” she said. “There is help available, I think oftentimes we feel alone in our problems without recognizing that we’re not the only ones going through it.”

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