Is this SAD, or something else?

March 29, 2009 11:55 AM

Is it Seasonal Affective Disorder, or something else?

I'm British and live in the north of the country. During Winter its only light from 8am to 4pm, and some days it's so cloudy and misty that we have to have the lights switched on even during the day. I've noticed recently that, on Sunny days as we come out of Winter, I feel immeasurably better -- it's like I've snorted a line of Coke or something. I'm full of energy, and cheery. I'm not exactly subdued when it's a duil cloudy day, but I'm definitely not at my best, and I've noticed that I tend to eat far more on those days (I think it's impossible to diet during the winter months).

Is this SAD, or is there something else going on? I'm experimenting with a bright light box but it's not entirely conclusive. Do you have this problem? What do you do to fight it?

posted by deeper red to human relations (14 comments total)

hey have the exact same problem. I live in Canada and the winter gets pretty bad. Working out helps alot.
posted by happydude123 at 12:12 PM on March 29

I have this problem. I don't know if you want to go so far as to identify a disorder, but it sure does help to find things that feel good in the dark time of year. Try the light box, try vacationing if you can, try a different diet - even if you eat a lot try healthy, energizing food.

It is annoying, though, isn't it? Just starting to get nice and light here in NYC and I feel so, so much better than I did a couple weeks ago.

These are traditional suggestions, but:
1) exercise, as much as you can.

2) make sure you are up and active when it is light.

3) talk to other people about it - I don't know that this year has been an especially long winter, but I do know I have been talking more with my friends and colleagues about it and the shared experience is helpful.
posted by RajahKing at 12:13 PM on March 29

IANAD.

I have the same problem, and I use my light box on a regular basis throughout the winter. Works a treat.
posted by different at 12:29 PM on March 29

Different, what's your technique for using the light box? How close do you sit, and for how long?
posted by deeper red at 12:44 PM on March 29

IANAD as well, and I'm sure different probably has an equally good strategy. That said, what I've found best during the winter months is to kill light emitting screens about an hour before I go to bed, which makes my quality of sleep go up. I'll then wake up in the morning, grab a piece of fruit, sit down about one foot away from my lightbox (apollo blue goLight) and turn it on half power for 15 minutes while I read something entertaining. Exercise afterward is optional. After doing this on a regular basis, I turned into someone who was never coherent before noon to an (almost) insufferable morning person.

The plus side of this strategy is it's cheap if it doesn't work (my lightbox ran me $120 through costco, and you can ebay/amazon it off for about the same amount). The downside is the initial investment and the extra 20 minutes in the morning (when you consider your productivity gains, this is nothing, though).
posted by ayerarcturus at 12:57 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]

I think a lot of people are down during the winter. Does that mean that a lot of people have SAD? I don't know. I've found that keeping a vase of fresh flowers on my desk, eating fresh fruit, and filling my room with as much natural light as possible really helps. Be well.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 1:11 PM on March 29

Yes, sounds like SAD. Lightbox (not just a small one eg. from costco, a big one) for 30 mins in the AM. Has had variable success (ranging from fabulous, to ok), but only after about 5 days of consecutive use. 5HTP (for me, 100 mg in AM before food) has also helped. When I lived in a maritime location, it was also really important to get outside (no matter what the weather) for a period of time during the day. Recognizing that it was SAD, not just not me being whiny, was important too.
posted by kch at 1:14 PM on March 29

I did not have SAD, just some winter blues from lack of sunlight, however I will suggest what worked for me:

Vitamin D (1,000 IU a day)
Fresh fruits
Exercise - outside if you can. I live in Fargo, North Dakota and as long as it was above zero degrees out I would bundle up and go for a walk around the block. Just being outside made me feel better.
posted by geekchic at 1:25 PM on March 29

My therapist had me go to a tanning salon once a week for 8 minutes during the winter to help out with SAD. Yes, I know CANCER OMG!!! The girls that worked there were aware of what was up and gave me a tanning lotion made specifically for the beds that had an SPF and they also put me in the beds with the older, dimmer bulbs. It's cheaper than buying a lightbox.
posted by idiotfactory at 1:27 PM on March 29

I'm immeasurably happier on sunny days as well. Which is why I enjoy the super cold days here in Chicago because they always accompany bright sunshine. :)

I've never been diagnosed with SAD and don't really care to be diagnosed, but I've always sort of guessed that's what it is ... except for me it's definitely something that's day-to-day. I'm not depressed all winter, which is what the websites on SAD seem to describe. It's only on the dreary days. For that matter, I'm more down on the dreary days in the summer, too. (If it's overcast I'm never as motivated to go outside and do yard work or whatever; I only like going out in the sun.)

So I always thought it was kind of in my head. It's not like I require a week or a month of UV deprivation to get the blues. I just need to look out the window and see that it's cloudy.

So it could be some sort of SAD, or it could be a personal preference. Just like some people would get cranky living in certain parts of the world because of any factor (too hot, too cold, too polluted, too flat), maybe we just don't like dark days.

I've never tried UV lights or any kind of light box thing. I always figured that as soon as I looked or stepped outside into the cloudy day, I'd still just be down about it. But I may be wrong. :) I'd be interested in hearing if you decide to try different lighting, and if it helps.

As for fighting it, as others have said, and always say: working out ALWAYS HELPS MY MOOD! It'll pretty much make me feel better about anything. I never get "high" from working out (like "runner's high") ... working out just brings me back to normal. (I'm not really the "bright and cheery" type, not because I'm depressed, just because ... I dunno, I'm just the even-keel type. :) But then there's the working-out-in-the-winter problem. Some winters I keep myself motivated and get in great shape, and some winters I sit on my butt and get fat (like this past winter). :) But it's been a pretty sunny winter (I gauge how overall-sunny it is by whether I have to turn the light on in my office as well, and mostly I haven't) so my mood has been relatively OK!
posted by iguanapolitico at 1:35 PM on March 29

You could be suffering a vitamin D deficiency:

The skin has a large capacity to make vitamin D. Exposure of a person in a bathing suit to a minimal erythemal dose of sunlight, which is typically no more than 15-20 minutes on Cape Cod in June or July at noon time, is the equivalent to taking 20,000 IU of vitamin D orally. It is now well documented that in the absence of any sun exposure 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day is necessary to maintain healthy levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the circulation. An analysis of the NHANES III data has demonstrated that neither children nor adults are receiving an adequate amount of vitamin D from their diet or from supplements.
posted by jamjam at 1:51 PM on March 29

My mom has SAD pretty badly, and would pretty much hibernate all winter when I was growing up. Her doctor now has her on Vitamin D and I can't believe the difference it's made for her. I've literally never seen her with this much energy.

I'd check with your doctor of course, because too much of anything isn't good for you, but it's definitely worth looking into.
posted by Caravantea at 1:54 PM on March 29

Again, try a vitamin D supplement & some full spectrum lights. I live in the Aleutian Islands and when I kick on my full spectrum lights, I get a sweet rush. You can combine two sets of cheap fluorescents to get a semi-complete band. I'd try the obvious before going to a Dr and being told the same.
posted by vporter at 2:04 PM on March 29

Yeah, try the Vitamin D. I get very similar symptoms in the winter. I live in Australia but go through periods of being vitamin D deficient because I spend all day inside in artificial light - although now I try to get out at lunchtime when it's sunny, under doctor's orders :) The supplements do make a difference, and you need vitamin D for other things as well, like calcium absorption.
posted by andraste at 3:06 PM on March 29