SAD or season affective disorder, is a form of depression that is the result of seasonal changes. While winter SAD is better known, there is a version of summer seasonal depression too. The most difficult months for the winter SAD sufferer are January and February. Women are at a higher risk for the disorder then men are. The further north you live the better your chances are of suffering. Seven times as many people in Washington state suffer from winter SAD as residents of Florida do. Relatives of alcoholics are also at a higher risk for the disorder than the general population.

What causes SAD?
The same decrease in sunlight that causes leaves to change color and animals to hibernate in the winter triggers winter SAD. The decrease in sunlight triggers an increase in melatonin production which is secreted in the pineal gland. Melatonin is a hormone related to our ability to sleep.

Symptoms of Winter SAD:
SAD sufferers have all of the symptoms classically associated with depression:

1. Over eating
2. Over sleeping
3. High consumption of starchy foods
4. General malaise
5. Lethargy
6. Full remission in the spring and summer
7. Seasonal episodes of depression greatly out number non-seasonal episodes
8. Symptom pattern maintained for two consecutive years

Treatment of SAD:
Most physicians recommend phototherapy (light therapy) for SAD sufferers. There is, however, no definitive study linking phototherapy to remission from SAD. Phototherapy does suppress the production of melatonin and many people do respond to the therapy. One study showed that an hour walk in the winter sun to be just as effective as 2.5 hours under phototherapy lights. Studies have also shown that regular fluorescent lights are just as effective in treating the condition as full spectrum lights are. There is no relationship between the intensity of the lights and the response to treatment.

While many doctors think of phototherapy as a risk free treatment, up to 20% of sufferers have side effects which include:

1. Eye strain
2. Headaches
3. Fatigue
4. Irritability
5. Inability to sleep (if used too late in the day)

Wishing you a wonderful rest of the winter and a happy spring.

Leslie Hope has been licensed, certified massage therapist since 1988 when she graduated from the Massage Institute of New England. She is the owner of the Healing Hands of Hope in Boston, Mass.