How to Beat the Winter Blues: 5 Treatment Options
Categories: Happiness, Health, Hormone Diet
PrintHow to Beat the Winter Blues: 5 Treatment Options">
Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.
Every fall I am consumed with the sad realization that I will soon face yet another long winter. Unlike many friends who are avid snowboarders or skiers, I have most of my fun in the summer sunshine. Every November I get set to convene with Old Man Winter by basically planning my escape and then counting the days until my vacation in the sun.Many people, not unlike me, suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), the seasonal depression we feel as the days grow shorter and we experience a shortage of sunlight. SAD was officially named in the 1980s, but it has been recognized for over a hundred years. Even animals react to the changing seasons with changes in mood and behaviour. Many of us dread the dark mornings and short days, finding that we may eat or sleep more to compensate. But how do you know if the changes in your appetite, level of motivation or sleep patterns are normal, or if they are more concerning, like those associated with SAD?
About 4 to 6% of the population experiences SAD. It is no surprise that the incidence increases with distance from the equator. It is, however, interesting to find that it's experienced less where there tends to be more snow on the ground. Women tend to experience SAD more than men. Children and teens can also be affected but it tends to be less common in people under 20.
How Do You Know if You Have SAD?
SAD symptoms include:
Sleep problems: Your sleep habits may change. You may be oversleeping but not feeling refreshed, have an inability to get out of bed or require a nap in the afternoon. We should sleep between 6 and 9 hours per night; children and teens require slightly more sleep, about 9.5 hours.
Overeating: Individuals with SAD may have increased cravings for sugary and/or starchy foods as the body attempts to naturally raise our feel-good hormones. This unfortunately, only tends to lead to weight gain that further contributes to depression.
Depression: You may experience feelings of despair, misery, guilt, hopelessness or anxiety. You may find normal tasks become frustratingly difficult, you may cry for no apparent reason or be unable to concentrate.
Family problems: You may avoid company, preferring isolation. Irritability and impatience are common, as are loss of libido or loss of feeling.
Lethargy: SAD may create feelings of overwhelming fatigue, or of feeling too tired to cope. Everything becomes an effort and you may have no motivation.
Physical symptoms: Sometimes joint pain or stomach problems may manifest and you may experience lowered resistance to infection.
Behavioural problems: This tends to be more common in children and teens.
A diagnosis of SAD is fitting if your symptoms have occurred for two years or more, with no non-seasonal depression episodes. Symptoms may begin around September each year and last until May, but tend to be worst in the darkest months-January and February. People who work in windowless environments, however, can be at risk any time of the year. Typically, full remission from seasonal depression occurs in the spring and summer months.
Treatment Options
Light therapy: Since SAD is related to a lack of light, it only makes sense that using light as a form of treatment would help reduce symptoms. Phototherapy or bright light therapy has been shown to suppress the brain's secretion of melatonin. Light devices (light visors) can be worn around the head or banks of white fluorescent lights (light boxes) on metal reflectors can be placed in the home or office. Look for full-spectrum lighting. Exposure for 30 minutes to 2 hours per day in the morning has been found to be very effective.
For mild symptoms, spending time outdoors during the day or arranging homes and workplaces to receive more sunlight may be helpful. One study found that an hour-long walk in winter sunlight was as effective as two and a half hours under bright artificial light. Vacationing in the sun will also help.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is produced when the sun's rays hit our skin, making deficiencies common in winter. It has also been found that SAD tends to be prevalent when vitamin D stores are low. One may wonder if the light therapy discussed above works for SAD because the broad-spectrum light allows the skin to produce vitamin D. Many studies have tested the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency might play a role in SAD. One such study was conducted on a group of 15 subjects with SAD. Eight subjects received 100,000 IU of vitamin D and seven subjects received phototherapy. At the onset of treatment and after one month of therapy subjects were administered the Hamilton Depression Scale questionnaire as a means of analysis. All subjects receiving vitamin D improved in all outcome measures. Surprisingly, the phototherapy group showed no significant change in depression scale measures. Improvement in vitamin D levels was associated with significant improvement in depression scale scores. This allows the conclusion that Vitamin D may be an important treatment for SAD.
Note: The dosage of vitamin D listed here should not be taken unless under the direction of a licensed health care provider. Many individuals report an improvement in symptoms with only 2000 to 5,000IU vitamin D3 per day.
Exercise every 48 hours: It is proven as an effective means to decrease depression and anxiety.
Eat a balanced diet: Follow a diet that is balanced with protein, carbohydrate and healthy fats, like my Hormone Diet. Avoiding sweets and starchy foods will help break the cycle of overeating, increase energy and assist with weight loss. Eating more protein will help to decrease sugar cravings.
St. John's Wort: Taking 900 mg of standardized St. John's Wort daily throughout the winter can help with the symptoms of mild to moderate depression. Ideally, it is best to begin taking this one month prior to the onset of your symptoms. I suggest beginning in October because it can take up to a month for St. John's Wort to reach full effectiveness. If you already have the symptoms, it's not too late to take this herb. My favourite choice for a source of this supplement, and the most potent that I am aware of, are those supplied by Metagenics or Medi-Herb.
Dr. Natasha Turner ND is the author of The Hormone Diet and she welcomes your questions or comments. Although you may not receive a response, your submission will certainly be read and may be selected as a topic for a future column.
Recent Posts
- Think Opposites Attract? Not When Choosing Your Spouse (9/03/2010)
- Rev Up Your Run, Butt Toning Tips and More (9/03/2010)
- How To Get That Workout Rush (9/03/2010)
- Are You Using Your Intuition? (9/03/2010)
- Split Routines: Find the Weightlifting Program That's Right For You (9/03/2010)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sea veg 10-28-2009 @ 8:38AM
This informative post has the potent to give precise info about the dietary supplements that have positive effect on our health. sea veg is another product that is prepared from nutrients of see weeds and extremely useful for our body’s natural mechanism.
Reply
Amanda 12-17-2009 @ 11:29AM
Just a heads up... I believe that St John's Wort can decrease the effectiveness of the birth control pill so check with someone before beginning it.
Reply