Why So SAD?

Getting out your winter gear in northern states means sun lamps, vitamin D gummies, and workout clothes to battle the “winter blues.”

By Isabel Teitelbaum

The first snowfall of the year can be a beautiful sight—it’s hard not to feel a little appreciation for the winter wonderland. However, the initial awe and enjoyment of the fluffy scenery can wear off well before the snow makes its final departure in May. The days get shorter, the temperature colder, and the students busier.

“In the winter months it gets super gloomy, and the snow is no longer pretty and Christmas-y,” said University of Minnesota student Nadia Zamoida. “It really makes me wanna sleep all day, which can lead to further depressive symptoms.”

Zamoida is one of approximately ten million Americans who are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It’s more commonly known as seasonal depression or the “winter blues.” SAD mainly strikes when people experience a decrease in sunlight exposure which causes a change in serotonin and melatonin levels in the body.

Everyone is encouraged to get outside for at least 30 minutes every day. Your body produces vitamin D through sunlight exposure and uses that vitamin D to help produce serotonin. According to Dr. Jean Larson, from the Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing, research suggests that serotonin deficiencies are associated with depression.

A personal or family history of depression can put you at a greater risk of experiencing SAD. Some people struggle with seasonal and major depression simultaneously. The age of onset ranges between 18 and 30, meaning college students (especially those living far from the equator) often find themselves experiencing symptoms without being properly diagnosed. In addition, SAD is four times more likely to affect women than men. 

Dr. Ziah Nahas, professor and vice chair of the University’s psychiatry department, said that hormones play a big role when explaining the spike of women experiencing depression during college. Women experience substantial hormonal changes twice—in their early 20s and again in their early 50s.

Another 10 to 20 percent of Americans deal with milder SAD symptoms. SAD has symptoms of depression, but there are different causes and varied treatments.

“I get tired very easily, and when I’m tired, it's difficult to set myself up for success. When it’s dark out all the time, it makes it difficult to wake myself up fully,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison student Maddy Gray. “When this happens I’ll tend to isolate myself and my eating habits get poor, which starts the cycle of SAD.”

Seasonal depression comes from a lack of sunlight. We have circadian rhythms with a daily cycle. This rhythm is an internal clock that responds to light and darkness in a person’s environment. “That clock, in the winter when there is not enough sunlight and when the sun is taking too long to come up in the morning, is going to shift forward,” said Dr. Nahas. “So the shift makes it difficult to wake up in the morning, making us fatigued, clearly affecting our mood.”

A common treatment for SAD is light therapy. It resets the body’s circadian rhythm by jump-starting it in the morning, helping to normalize the body’s sleep cycle. Light therapy is measured in units of illuminance intensity called “lux.” Ten thousand lux is used for 20 minutes in the morning to mimic sunlight and energize you when you’re starting your day. However, the harmful UV rays are removed from these lights, meaning all of the vitamin D intake you normally get from the sun is absent as well.

Light therapy is expanding into new forms and becoming more readily available. In 2016, Sunspot, a light-therapy bus based in Duluth, Minnesota, opened with the purpose of helping people fulfill their sunshine needs. Student Miranda Almendinger said that the bus helped her when she first tried it during finals week at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She tried to implement light therapy into her more regular schedule, which she found helpful until her lamp burned out.  

There are resources available to students who are curious but not ready to commit to buying their own sun therapy lamp. On the St. Paul campus, Magrath Library allows students to check out or reserve SAD lamps.

Light therapy may not be everyone's favorite. Student Molly O’Brien hasn’t gotten any relief from it. She first noticed that her regular medication to help with her anxiety and depression wasn’t working in December of 2018. She was aware of her personal and family history of depression when she moved from California to Minnesota but found the lack of sunlight in Minnesota difficult to deal with.

“It’s something that is talked about as an issue, but the reality isn’t really addressed as being unable to get out of bed and being unmotivated or just out of energy,” O’Brien said. “It’s something that I feel like I can’t ask disability for, but [it] would help at times. The stigma is so prevalent that people end up sacrificing work or school, and then it can worsen the depression.”

She’s found some relief by taking vitamin D gummies and an increased dosage of her medication based on her psychiatrist’s recommendation. However, she discovered the exercise she got during frisbee last spring helped greatly. “My psychiatrist said that routine exercise is equivalent to an increased SSRI dose!”  SSRIs are a type of antidepressant that work by increasing serotonin levels in the body. 

Anita Campo, a UW-Madison student, gets plenty of exercise on her own as well as through her work at a kickboxing gym. “But, of course, SAD gets in the way,” she said. In addition to her social anxiety, there are days she finds it hard to leave her bed. In a hopeful effort, she’s experimenting with meditation and is meeting with a psychiatrist this month to discuss medication.

Dr. Nahas said that exercise is one of the most predictable antidepressants that there is. Exercising, a healthy diet, getting outside, and maintaining a healthy mindset can all help to reduce SAD symptoms. When the symptoms are persistent, some people may need other resources, such as therapy or medication. Dr. Nahas stressed that “if the symptoms are mild, you shouldn’t take an antidepressant drug.”

Therapy can be comforting and a good way to draw people out of isolation. Gray said that she sees a therapist every three weeks in Madison and has one in her hometown she sees when home for extended visits, which has helped. She tried going to therapy every week and found it beneficial but too expensive. She’s made a personal choice to not to take medication for her depression and instead has been meditating and working towards mindfulness.

Almendinger found her preferred methods of treatment to be talking to close friends, using a salt lamp, and a new friend—she adopted her dog, Kieko, at four months old during her sophomore year. This came a year after health services confirmed her depression was amplified during the winter months.

“She’s not a very cuddly dog,” Almendinger said, “but her presence really helps, especially when she lays at my feet or when she sleeps on my legs. She’s like a gravity blanket.” While pets are not listed in common seasonal depression treatments, pets help refocus attention from yourself to be responsible for something/someone else. 

“One size rarely fits anyone—it’s a combination of these,” Dr. Larson said about treatments. “They all depend on the individual and her/his needs.” 

SAD is something that can affect the everyday lives of those in the north. The treatments are not a guaranteed fix, but through experimentation and focus on a healthy lifestyle, everyone can hopefully find the tools to take care of themselves.