Don't be SAD, lighten up.
Often referred to as seasonal depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder was discovered in the early eighties by the National Institute of Health in the US.
Seasonal Affective Disorder causes you to feel down, gloomy, and lose energy. You may have difficulty concentrating and feeling alert, withdraw socially and have carbohydrate cravings. Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferers also experience sleep problems.
The NIH estimates that over 36 million Americans suffer depressive symptoms brought on by the winter months. Although not as prevalent in Australia it is still estimated that 1 in 300 Australians experience SAD.
What causes Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Researchers agree that the lack of sunlight in Autumn and winter causes the effects of seasonal depression. Without sunlight, the brain doesn't produce enough serotonin, which results in the symptoms of depression. The darker days also signal the brain to overproduce the hibernation hormone, melatonin. The symptoms diminish as the days get longer, although many Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferers note brief (1-2 week) periods of SAD-like symptoms in the summer.
Symptoms often include fatigue, weight gain, sleep problems such as insomnia and hypersomnia, mood swings, introversion and food cravings. The problem many doctors have in diagnosing SAD is the symptoms overlap with many sleep disorders and other forms of depression.
Seasonal Affective Disorder Treatment
Since the discovery of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in 1984, light therapy has been recommended as the treatment of choice.
In studies, over 80% of those who used light recovered quickly — usually within 2 weeks. Other treatments, although successful, require more time and some, such as antidepressant medication cause long-term side effects. However, there are still some sufferers who do not respond well to light therapy, and these individuals need to consider another or a combined approach.
Light also suppresses the hibernation hormone melatonin. This is important, because melatonin forces us to pull back, conserve and sleep. Melatonin secretion is necessary during the night, but daytime melatonin can be harmful. By suppressing melatonin during the daytime, our activity cycle is extended, and we actually sleep better at night.
Only 15 minutes per day is needed to maintain the antidepressant effect, and light can be used while doing other activities such as reading the paper in the morning or eating breakfast.
Light therapy is preferred because it works naturally and addresses the core problem that the lack of light causes. Light not only suppresses the winter, withdrawal hormones, but it produces active mood hormones and resets the sleep/wake cycle.
Light resets Circadian Rhythms
Scientists believe that Seasonal Affective Disorder is associated with shifted circadian rhythms (i.e. body clock). The body clock regulates our daily activity cycles, and it needs bright light signals to reset itself each day. When it doesn't receive this signal, it can malfunction. This can affect how you sleep and feel during the day. If you have difficulty waking up, or you fall asleep and wake up at the wrong time, you may have a circadian rhythm disorder.
http://www.naturalnews.com/001541.html
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