This story was originally published on Oct. 23, 2020, and has been updated.
When psychiatrist Dr. Norman Rosenthal moved to the United States from South Africa in 1976, he felt less energetic during the harsh winters.
He noticed other people felt the same way. "Just like the autumn leaves, they became depressed on schedule," says Rosenthal. "In spring, the condition reverses itself." He studied the problem, and published the first research on the syndrome and coined the term seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, in 1984.
About 1 in 20 people in the U.S. have SAD, and it typically lasts about 40% of the year, according to the American Psychiatric Association. If you have it, you may feel sluggish or depressed, oversleep, overeat, gain weight and be uninterested in doing things you previously enjoyed. Many more people have the winter blues, a milder version of SAD, where you feel like a sadder, sleepier or slower version of yourself.
With winter just around the corner, here's why you may feel this way — what you can do to feel better.
1. Recognize the symptoms
For many people, SAD makes things feel difficult every fall when it gets darker earlier, but better in the bright days of spring and summer, Rosenthal says.
One of Rosenthal's patients described themselves as feeling like a bear in the winter and wanting to hibernate. "So if you feel any identification with a hibernating bear, you might well have SAD," he says.
Women are about four times more vulnerable than men, and the condition is more common in the Northern Hemisphere.
While some people don't feel different at all when the seasons change, Rosenthal says others are quite disabled by it. People diagnosed with SAD, he says, are "people who would go to a doctor because the problem was bad enough."
Rosenthal says it can be hard to recognize a pattern, because the symptoms creep up on you. "For example, it might be a little bit serious in September and a little worse in October and a little worse in November. It's a bit like the story of the frog in the bowl that keeps getting warmed up, and he doesn't realize he's going to die because it happens so incrementally."
But, he says, recognizing your symptoms and taking them seriously are critical, because SAD can be debilitating or worse.
2. Let there be light
A fundamental part of the physiology of this condition is that some people just need more light. One often recommended fix for this is a SAD lamp. Rosenthal says these lamps generate light that's far more intense than indoor lighting — about 10,000 lux, a measurement of light.
This light is absorbed through the eyes, not the skin — but, he says, don't stare at it. Rosenthal says he places it so that the light is shining down on him, just like it would if it were a sunny day. "That's how we evolved to see light — with the heavens above and the sun shining down, so that it comes and hits the bottom part of our retina." The morning is often the best time, and the earlier the better.
He says if you use the lamp for about 20 to 30 minutes a day, you should feel a difference within two weeks. If you don't, return it.
Studies suggest that the value of preventive light therapy is inconclusive and that it's really a patient's preference whether to use it or not. But as a treatment for those who have seasonal affective disorder, SAD lamps have made a big difference.
Remember, even if you use a SAD lamp, make sure you are still trying to get as much natural light as possible. Go outside, even if you don't feel like it, because even when it appears overcast, you are getting light from the sun. Remember that small things can make a difference, so trim any overgrowth around your windows and clean the panes.
3. Be thoughtful and consistent about what (and when) you eat
Rosenthal says people with SAD have a tremendous appetite for carbohydrates. "They crave sweets and starches. And needless to say, that puts on weight, and they can't always take it off in the summer, so every year they're ratcheting up a little more, a little more, and it's a real problem."
Emily Manoogian, a clinical researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, says people with SAD usually have a delay in their circadian rhythm, "these 24-hour rhythms we have within our body."Just like light, food is an important cue to your body. "If you are eating, your body thinks it should be awake."
Make sure to stop eating three hours before you go to sleep, so your body knows to rest. By just controlling the time you eat and keeping it within a consistent 10- to 12-hour window, you're giving your body a strong cue to tell it the time of day, regardless of anything else that's going on.
4. Make time for movement
Exercise is another environmental cue that helps signal to your internal clocks what time it is. It's a cue that says "wake up," Manoogian says.
"Exercising during the active time of your day can help your body know what time of day it is and stimulate the brain to be awake at the right time of day, then allow your body to rest in the evening," she says.
Rosenthal says when it's cold and dark and you don't feel energetic and aren't active, it can turn into a vicious cycle. "You don't feel like getting up in the morning, so you pull the covers over your head, so you get less light. So you feel more depressed, so you feel even less like getting up. Whereas if you force yourself to get up, then push yourself to do all these things, then you can feel much better," he says. So try to push through and get some physical activity.
5. Reduce stress
Rosenthal says seasonal affective disorder has three main causes: a genetic component, a lack-of-light component and stress.
Stress may come from a lack of motivation. "When you've got things to do and you're feeling down and not thinking straight and not feeling effective, that's when you can really feel most depressed," Rosenthal says.
So try to reduce stress as much as you can. You may want to decorate a room with bright colors and photographs that make you smile. You may want to see a therapist and talk through how you feel. You may want to try meditation. Rosenthal says the effects of practicing meditation and SAD haven't been fully studied yet, but he believes it can help. Be proactive about making pleasurable plans.
Rosenthal says a lot of people do really well following these simple tips. But if you don't find yourself feeling better or if SAD is interfering with your personal relationships or work, he says, medication can also be very effective.
And keep in mind that none of this will make the disorder go away, but as Rosenthal puts it: "It's not a cure, but ... sometimes the SAD dies of neglect."
This story was edited by Malaka Gharib and Sylvie Douglis. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
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