Surviving the winter blues

With the summer seeming to be a long way off and the dark cold winter mornings set in many of us become affected by the season. Winter depression or the winter blues is also known as SAD, seasonal affective disorder; it is something that is thought to affect millions of people and it ranges from mild symptoms to the more severe.

So what are the symptoms of SAD? And what if anything can be done about it to enable you to survive the winter blues? The symptoms vary from person to person with it affecting some more than others; however the symptoms listed below are the most common with just the severity changing.

* Having problems with sleep is the most common, this usually is sleeping more than normal but not feeling refreshed no matter how long you slept. The feeling of not wanting to get out of bed and also needing to take a nap during the day is also common.

* Many people overeat during the winter months with a particular craving for carbohydrates; this of course leads to piling on weight.

* Depression very often sets in with the darker and colder days and nights.

* Despair and misery often affects the person with feelings of being “out of sorts” to feeling sad and tearful for what seems to be the smallest things.

* Social problems and problems with relationships can also creep in, you find yourself snapping at your partner, being annoyed by them and avoiding going out with friends.

* A feeling of lethargy and everything becomes an effort, you find yourself becoming increasingly tired.

* During this period of time you find yourself catching colds and other illnesses more easily; this is due to lowered resistance to infection.

* Behavioral problems can occur particularly in younger people.

The symptoms of seasonal affective disorder will usually start to occur from around September and can last until around April, but symptoms will of course peak during the darkest and coldest months.

It is thought the reason behind SAD is the lack of bright light during the winter months, which although the exact reasons why this happens is unknown, it is thought that bright light does affect the brain chemistry. With the knowledge that bright light or the lack of it does have this effect; the treatment used for those who are severely affected by SAD is to be in bright light for periods of time during the winter months. Vacationing in a brighter climate during the winter or purchasing a light box can achieve this.

Light boxes have been designed to have suitable bright lighting that is of 2500 lux at least, where lux is the measurement for brightness. To put this into perspective a normal living area is around 100 lux, the light however doesn’t have to a special daylight, full spectrum light or color matching light. If you are severely affected by SAD then there are many websites which can give you specific information on how light therapy can help you overcome the winter blues and where to purchase light boxes from.

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