When the dark winter months roll around, does your mood dim? Do you have a tough time sleeping? Does your energy drag? Do you lose your appetite or over-eat? Are you uninspired, cranky and out of sorts? You might have Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) sometimes known as winter blues which is a type of depression that tends to happen as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter.
The disorder occurs in about five percent of American adults with around 20 percent of people having at least some of the symptoms. Not surprisingly, the incidence of SAD increases in people who are living farther away from the equator. But seasonal affective disorder is less common where there is snow on the ground because the snow reflects light. Its four times more common in women than men, and the average age of people when they first develop this illness is twenty-three, but people of all ages can develop SAD.
LOOK INTO LIGHT THERAPY
Studies show that light therapy is an effective treatment for SAD. There are two types of light therapy::bright light treatment, in which you sit in front of a "light box" for a certain amount of time (usually in the morning), and dawn simulation, which is done while you sleep. For dawn simulation, a low-intensity light is timed to go on at a certain time in the morning before you wake up, and it gradually gets brighter.
