Have you been feeling sluggish, more tired than usual, less ambitious, and maybe even sad or depressed?
There's actually a physiological reason.
Fall – at least the pleasant part of it – is coming to an end. Depending on where you live, you may have warm days left, but here in the upper Midwest, last week was probably the last of the temperatures above 60 degrees. We're already into freezing temperatures and snow.
If you're experiencing the same end-of-fall funk as I am, it can be helpful to know why it happens and what you can do to deal with it.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Commonly known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), these feelings are a type of depression triggered by changing seasons. Symptoms typically last 4-5 months of the year and reoccur annually. Those symptoms include:
- Feeling sluggish
- Low energy
- Trouble sleeping
- Overeating, particularly craving carbs
- Loss of interest in activities you usually enjoy
- Feeling hopeless, worthless, or depressed
Women experience SAD more often than men, and it is more common if you live further from the equator where the weather is colder and days are shorter. You're also more likely to struggle with SAD if you have other mental health conditions, including anxiety, bipolar disorder, and eating disorders.
The cause of SAD isn't exactly known, but research suggests it can involve serotonin and melatonin, which regulate your daily waking and sleeping cycle.
What can you do to help?
First, make sure you get enough vitamin D. It activates serotonin and can help balance your serotonin levels.
Vitamin D isn't abundant in foods, but if you're looking to get it through you diet, choose cod liver oil, fatty fish like salmon and trout, beef liver, and egg yolks. Foods "fortified" with vitamin D typically use a synthetic form of the vitamin, which doesn't give your body the same benefit as the naturally occurring vitamin.
The best way to get vitamin D is through sunlight on your skin. Now, I know it's winter, and we're not spending so much time outside, but even 10 minutes can start your body's vitamin D production. And if you really can't get outside, even sitting in the sunlight coming through a window is better than nothing.
But the perhaps the easiest way to make sure you get enough vitamin D in the winter is through supplementation. Make sure to choose a quality one since all supplements are not created equal. I use this one. I love that's it's a dissolvable/chewable tablet (that tastes good!) and contains essential oils to help my body absorb it better. It's also vegan-friendly if that's important to you.
Another option if you experience SAD is light therapy. This has been one of the main treatments for SAD since the 1980s. It aims to replace some of the loss of sunlight with artificial light. However, unlike your normal indoor lights, SAD or sun lights are very bright and include more of the spectrum of light – key since most indoor light is blue light these days.
I wrote about my experience using a sun lamp last winter, and I'm going to ramp up my use of it again now that winter is upon us.
In most cases, SAD is pretty mild, but if you are really struggling, make sure you talk to someone, whether it's a professional or an understanding friend. And remember, SAD will pass. You won't feel like this forever.
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