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hello everybody and welcome to this presentation on seasonal affective disorder I'm your host
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes seasonal affective disorder is a mood disorder that often occurs in the
fall and winter and is associated with the days getting shorter but we'll talk about the fact
that that may not be the only cause the prevalence of seasonal affective disorder or sad ranges from
1.5 percent to nine percent depending on latitude now it's important to recognize that the higher
you are the higher the latitude you are the less UV rays get through during the fall and winter
for your body to be able to produce vitamin D so vitamin D is an aspect of what we're talking
about but not the only one causes of seasonal affective disorder have been associated with
seasonal changes in circadian signaling Pathways so your circadian rhythms that respond to light
and dark start to get a little bit wonky when the day gets shorter because there's a lot less a lot
fewer light hours and a lot more dark hours show your circadian rhythms get out of whack now your
circadian rhythms remember are not just involved in when you sleep but they're also involved in
whether you're when you get hungry and when you're satiated they're also involved in the
um release of your gonadal or your sex hormones your circadian rhythms
are also involved in your immune system so during the winter people tend to get sicker
easier well what we're seeing is potentially a artifact of an alteration in circadian rhythms
so we see seasonal changes in circadian signaling Pathways resulting in alterations in levels of
Serotonin which we know is responsible for a lot of things including pain perception sleep and mood
and glutamate which is your main excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate levels go down so
it's a little bit you may feel a little bit more sluggish and glucocorticoid signaling or cortisol
signaling now remember we've talked in other videos about the cortisol Awakening response you
need some cortisol you need the stress hormone to get motivated so your cortisol levels are
highest first thing in the morning that's one of the things that kind of triggers you to wake up
out of your sleep and it decreases throughout the day when your cortisol levels Get Low then your
body starts secreting melatonin to help you get sleepy and the system starts over again
when your brain is not getting the signals at the right time then you may not be getting that
Awakening response when you're supposed to so if your circadian rhythms are not in sync then you
may not be getting that Awakening response when you're supposed to or in the early days you may
get that Awakening response when you're supposed to when you wake up you expect it to be light and
it's still pitch black outside and your brain says Ah does not compute not sure what to do here so
you feel foggy for a good part of the day because it was dark when it was supposed to be light
as I mentioned earlier a lack of vitamin D they've actually shown that in latitudes that
are above Tennessee so Kentucky and and higher the up to six months out of the year the you
don't get enough UV rays in order for your body to produce enough vitamin D now before you go
out and start supplementing vitamin D remember that it is added to milk it's added to a lot of
Butters it's a lot added to orange juice it's probably in your multivitamin if you take one
and vitamin D is something you actually can overdose on so it's important to get a blood test
done if you think your vitamin D is low find out and then you can decide whether supplement with
your doctor whether supplementation is necessary another cause that of seasonal affective disorder
may be reduced movement a lot of times during the fall and winter when it's cold outside people
aren't going outside as much they're staying inside they're more sedentary when you're more
sedentary you're not getting as much oxygen in your body and when that oxygen level gets lower
then you may start feeling more sluggish we know that a body at rest tends to stay at rest that's
basic physics and when people are lounging around on the sofa when they're stuck inside
you can actually start to feel more tired your body needs to move
so reduced movement may also contribute reduced exposure to plants is another potential cause and
there hasn't been much research on this but think about it when we come to this time where people
start experiencing seasonal affective disorder everything or a lot of things have kind of browned
up and they've found remember I said that seasonal affective disorder is worse in higher latitudes
well not only are you not getting as much UV radiation but you also may not have as much in the
way of year-round Greenery if you're down in South Florida if you're down in the lower latitudes now
obviously that's much lower latitudes you're going to have green year-round you're going
to go outside and there's going to be you know seagulls and and plants and you're going to have
that cheerful those cheerful colors that you're seeing in places where you don't
have that Evergreen you often tend to see more seasonal affective disorder so there might be
something to that for those of you who are in those Northern latitudes where you get a fair
amount of snow a lot of times we'll look at that first snowfall when it's all fresh and new and
pristine and white and it looks so pretty and then a day or two or three later it's all filled
with you know road dirt and everything else and it just looks nasty and they found again that
when people look outside if the environment is not welcoming if they look outside and the environment
is you know depressing or icky or dirty then people often feel depressed or icky or dirty
so exposure to plants and nature changes during the fall and winter can be another one and finally
during this time of year it's also important to remember that there is a lot going on there
are a lot of holidays and holidays can be very triggering for people for a variety of reasons
it can trigger grief it can trigger stress about finances it can trigger disagreements
you know whose house do we go to for what holiday it can trigger stress because you're having to um
socialize with family members that you may not get along with so well so there are a lot of things we
think of the holidays that they're supposed to be this cheerful um time but there's a lot of stress
and a lot of energy that gets depleted during the holidays and a lot of times people just get
Plum worn down and that can also contribute to feelings of depression during this season
so what do we do about it circadian rhythm regulation is certainly recommended there's
been a lot of research on light therapy ranging between 2500 and 10 000 Lux for 30 to 60 Minutes
at the same time each day now Lux is the amount of light that you're actually getting in a
particular area so you may have a 100 watt bulb and the amount of light that you're getting from
that bulb depends on how directed that beam is and how far away it is from your head which is
why a lot of the light therapy devices tend to be boxes that you sit on your um on your desk
sleep hygiene is also important if you start going to sleep when it gets dark
at five o'clock in the afternoon then your circadian rhythms are probably going to
get messed up so it's important to maintain your sleep routines one of the ways you can
do this in maintaining your circadian rhythms is by eating at the same time each day during
the awake times making sure to keep the lights on that can also be helpful even if it's not
you know 2500 Lux having bright lights on and engaging in activity can help set your circadian
rhythms circadian rhythms are actually set by a combination of light levels and and social
activity so if you have more if you're doing more as opposed to sitting on the couch in the dark
and you're in in the light then you're going to more easily regulate your uh your circadian
rhythms and improve your sleep hygiene now I have sleep hygiene separate from circadian
rhythms because sleep hygiene itself also means getting good quality sleep not drinking excessive
amounts of caffeine late in the afternoon and again keeping that that routine sort of stable
vitamin D supplementation I already mentioned can be helpful for some people but you can overdose
so it's important to figure out with your doctor do you need extra vitamin D environmentally get
outside if it's cold outside bundle up if it is absolutely too cold outside okay at least sit next
to a window or keep the blinds open so you can see outside and you feel less confined exercise
and move around if you can't do it outside all right if you can't get to the gym because you're
snowed in all right open those blinds and do it in front of the window if you can do whatever
you can to try to feel less confined it will help with what some people call Cabin Fever get some
plants they have done numerous studies that have shown that plants are associated with improved
mental health improved sense of well-being reduced perception of pain and actually improved physical
healing and that could be because people When people's stress levels are lower their immune
system is higher but the research is pretty clear that having plants around can be very helpful now
if you've got cats and dogs make sure that you get cat and dog friendly plants to have inside
if you're going to have them inside herbs are wonderful plants that you can have inside like
basil and oregano and things like that that are animal friendly and don't tend to need a
whole lot of light or space so if you live in an apartment for example plant Evergreens outside
even if it's just greeting you when you come to your front door having a couple of Evergreen
plants can make it feel more alive can make it feel more nurturing same thing on your
deck or your patio or your backyard if you can have some Evergreens out there it really helps
not only your mood but it also attracts a lot of wildlife that may or may not help your mood
and tis the season it is important to manage your time and energy don't over commit don't
agree to direct the Christmas play and make this and that for the bake sale and then go to
17 different Christmas parties Plus have to do all of your shopping and think you're going to not get
completely worn down and burned out manage your time and energy recognize what is most important
to me this season what things do I am I going to commit my energy to and then anything that's not
already identified stop and look at your list and say do I really have the energy to do this
address any Financial relationship or relationship stressors and this is really important during the
holidays people can feel a lot of stress to buy things for people and this holiday in particular
there may be additional Financial stresses as a result of the economy and high energy prices
recognizing that working with a Financial Consultant or just sitting down and making a
budget and figuring out what you can do addressing any anxiety or guilt related to not being able to
provide the or by the perfect gift for everybody on your list that's important a lot of people have
a lot of rejection sensitivity when it comes to not being able to provide the ideal gift
um or how they're going to be able to afford to provide these gifts and relationship stressors
can also become highlighted during this time when there's so much going on having difficulty
with patience and compassion with one another recognizing that many people are feeling frazzled
and prior hurts may come out or maybe triggered during this time so it's important to be mindful
of what stressors that you've got going on right now and potentially work on those either yourself
or with a counselor or with a spiritual leader address your grief and Trauma triggers holidays
can be really hard if you've lost somebody even if it wasn't on the holiday it can be a reminder
of not having Grandma there at Christmas or something and that can contribute to a
lot of anticipatory depression and grief and then depression and grief when you get to that holiday
same thing is true for trauma if people have experienced trauma especially on a holiday then
when that holiday comes around again that trauma wound may be reopened and those are
things that are important to address to prevent development of mood issues during the season
don't buy into the social media or Hallmark facade people are going to post on social media their
best moments they're not going to post when they burn the turkey they're not going to post you know
their bank account that is in the negative they're not going to post the things that they don't want
to celebrate however it doesn't mean that they don't have those things Hallmark is the same way a
lot of the Hallmark movies set up this unrealistic expectation for the perfect happy holiday that the
majority of people probably aren't going to have you're not so it's important to recognize what's
realistic you know this is the the fantasy but what's realistic what do I want to have and
what am I going to be content with and then act purposefully making sure to spend your energy each
day on the things that are important to creating a rich and meaningful life right now what is it that
you need to do and what is it that you can let go of that is draining your energy if this video was
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seasonal affective disorder is very common there are many different causes for it including
biological and environmental changes as well as emotional and cognitive stressors maintaining
your routine and your circadian rhythms getting enough vitamin D managing your time and stress
and creating a nurturing environment can help you manage the symptoms during this time of year