Yes, winter depression is real. Here’s how to treat it

The end of daylight saving time – where we lost that hour of sleep back in March and stumbled around like zombies for several days – happens this Sunday at 2 AM.

Even though we keep hearing that we get an extra hour of sleep out of the deal, a new study is warning that this time shift can trigger depression.

And that’s true. But not because the clocks on our phones or computers suddenly “fall back.”

The real culprit here is something that makes a lot of us SAD – a condition officially known as seasonal affective disorder.

That’s the kind of depression that can come right along with these shorter days and longer nights. And the less sunshine there is in your neck of the woods, the more likely you are to be seriously affected.

But fortunately there are some easy steps you can take to curb the side effects that come along with these darker months.

The sunny side of the street

Unless you live in Hawaii or Arizona, losing an hour in the spring and getting it back the fall is one of those annoying things that we have to put up with.

But now, a study out of Denmark (which, by the way, is considered the happiest country in the world!) is saying that the number of people diagnosed with depression increases immediately after the switch to standard time.

Of course in Denmark, they know a lot about long, dark days in the winter. One Danish poet says that there are 16 months, November being five of them!

And if you’re someone who gets SAD in the winter (which is actually considered a form of depression), you know it can take its toll.

Lack of sunshine can cause you to feel tired, lethargic and irritable. And many people find it hard to sleep and can start having feelings of low self-esteem. In severe cases, people have even become suicidal.

The idea of “winter depression” was first officially identified over three decades ago by the National Institute of Mental Health. It found that these seasonal mood changes can run the range from simply feeling down to severe mood shifts.

But here’s where a lot of advice on how to treat winter depression, or SAD, goes off the rails.

Some researchers go so far as to suggest starting up antidepressants in the fall to ward off more serious depression during the winter. What they may not tell you, however, is that the best antidepressant of all is what we’re missing the most during these times — enough sunlight!

And that’s exactly where light therapy comes in.

Light therapy devices vary in size and price, but a good one should give you at least 10,000 “lux” of light. They’re best used soon after waking up in the morning for around half an hour. A light box for SAD should not be emitting any UV light.

You use it by facing the light source at a distance of around two feet. You don’t want to look directly at the light, but your eyes should be open.

Along with a light box, other ways to make sure that winter doesn’t get the best of you include:

• Making sure you’re getting sufficient amounts of vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin.” Because of decreased sun exposure in winter, experts recommend vitamin D3 supplements, usually around 2,000 IUs daily, although some people may require more, which a blood test can determine.
• Taking a fish oil supplement containing omega-3 fatty acids.
• Getting outside for a walk whenever possible, especially around noon when the sun is brightest. This will not only help elevate your mood and increase the amount of natural vitamin D you get from the sun, which is the best kind, but give you some exercise as well.

And don’t forget to set your clocks back this Saturday night before you hit the hay!

“The transition from daylight saving time to standard time leads to depressions” Aarhus University, October 27, 2016, Medical Xpress, medicalxpress.com