Seasonal Affective Disorder: Coping Tips as Days Get Shorter
Seasonal affective disorder can bring low energy, sleep changes and loss of interest during fall and winter. Mental health experts recommend sunlight, social connection and treatment options that may include therapy, medication or a light box.
Seasonal affective disorder can bring months of depression during fall and winter, and coping with SAD seasonal disorder may involve sunlight, social connection and professional care, mental health experts say.
The condition can cause low energy, changes in sleep, carbohydrate cravings and hopelessness. Symptoms tend to ease in warmer weather.
“They may have low energy,” said Melissa Tuomi, a psychologist at Stony Brook Medicine. People may sleep too much or too little, withdraw from others or lose interest in activities they usually enjoy, she said.
About 5% of Americans are estimated to experience the disorder. Some experts believe that figure is an undercount because people may suffer quietly until spring.
Doctors diagnose seasonal affective disorder when depression follows a seasonal pattern for two consecutive years. There is no single definitive cause, but experts say changes in sunlight exposure play a key role.
Reduced sunlight can affect the body’s circadian rhythms, which help regulate sleep and can influence mood. People living farther from the equator tend to experience the condition more often.
Research estimates that 1% of Florida residents experience the disorder, compared with about 10% in New Hampshire.
“Getting sunlight helps,” said Dr. Robin Tassinari, a professor of psychiatry and internal medicine at the Albany Medical Center and Albany Medical College. Sunlight helps maintain serotonin levels and supports sleep cycles, she said.
Experts also recommend maintaining social connections during colder months, when people may be more likely to isolate. Talk therapy and prescribed antidepressant medication are other treatment options.
Christopher Fisher, director of behavioral health at Northwell Health’s Zucker Hillside Hospital, said going outdoors can help people feel more active and encourage motivation.
“We get outside, we feel better, we feel more motivated to get outside to feel better, and we continue forward with that more positive, productive habit,” Fisher said.
Light therapy boxes are another common treatment. They can provide 10,000 lux, described as the amount of light on a spring day.
Some light boxes listed by online retailers cost around $70, while others cost about $200.
Dr. Ronald Brenner, chief of the behavioral health service line at Catholic Health, said a combination of light therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and medication may be the most effective approach.
“You don’t have to accept that for four to five months out of the year that you're just going to be in this slumped place,” Fisher said.
