SAD Season: How To Help Your Mood

MADISON, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – With long winters in Wisconsin it’s not uncommon to hibernate and feel down. But it’s a New Year and a new you, here’s ways to help.

Do you find yourself feeling down this time of year? You’re not alone. The skies are gray and the nights are long and the temperatures are cold.

There’s also likely more going on with year-end weight gain than just overindulgence in holiday treats, too.

These changes to us in the winter are likely passed on for survival and coded into our genes. Like Bears go into hibernation, us as humans do sort of the same thing.

The American Psychiatric Association says that about 5% of Americans experience a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder, called SAD.

People experiencing SAD tend to have feelings of hopelessness and decreased motivation to take part in activities that they usually enjoy. Even those who don’t meet the threshold for this disorder may see spikes in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Or overall, you’re tired and less active. In fact, some scientists suggest more than 40% of Americans have these SAD symptoms to some degree in the winter.

Like some animals in a state of dormancy to survive the harsh winters, there are similarities with us. SAD may have its roots in ways we’ve adapted to save energy at a time of year when food was scarce. Then toss lower temperatures on top of that, posing greater energetic demands on our bodies in order to stay warm.

We gain weight. Winter is simply a well known time of the year when lots of people put on a few extra pounds. Research says that diets are at their worst in the cold months, generally slapping an additional 1 to 3 pounds on. This sounds just like animals saving up food to store as fat for hibernation. A time when animals use less energy and their metabolic rate drops to about 2% of normal.

So with depression and weight gain, our bodies slow down, too. We tend to stay inside more, do less. Leaving hardly any exposure to sunlight, bringing our bodies lower levels of serotonin. Which that plays a key role in our moods.

We too are seasonal creatures. So the way to feel better is to push past that. Go outside for a short walk when the sun is out. Even if it’s for 5 minutes, it’ll help boost your mood. Then, it just may become addicting and a habit to get you through the long winters.

There are also things you can buy for at home or work, called light therapy lamps. It’s a serotonin bulb with no UV light, so it’s not a suntan or bad for your skin. It simply replaces the good sun rays on those gray days. With exposure to bright light from a serotonin bulb it increases the serotonin production in your body. Serotonin is believed to regulate feelings like happiness and anxiety.