Haims: Shorter days can bring on mood changes
Just when you thought your medical vocabulary was full of acronyms, along comes another — SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Don’t let the tidy letters fool you, SAD isn’t just a passing gloom or an excuse to skip the gym. Rather, it is a scientifically recognized condition based on how our bodies respond to light — or the lack of it.
As the days grow shorter and the hours of sunlight wane, our internal clocks fall out of sync, often dragging down mood, energy and even physical health. Especially in the elderly, these changes can appear suddenly and often and may be misread as simple aging or depression. The science is real and the symptoms are all too common. The solutions may be simpler than you think.
Suddenly, over the past couple of weeks, we have been managing temperaments, anxiety, energy levels, strange behavior and overall health concerns of our clients. It all just started — there was no build-up and few, if any, warning signs.
SAD can be a serious condition that may require professional care. SAD is caused by a lack of exposure to sunlight during the winter months. If you are concerned that an elderly friend or relative may be experiencing sudden changes in mood, energy, depression and even overall health, you may want to learn a bit about SAD.
If you stop and consider the signs, you’ll be hard-pressed to deny it exists. The premise behind it is our circadian clock, sometimes called our “body clock.” The circadian clock is the body’s internal time-keeper; it tells us when to sleep, wake up and eat. It also has a part in regulating many physiological processes like hormone release, temperature regulation, metabolism and mood.
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While SAD manifests differently from person to person, many symptoms are commonplace. Research indicates that symptoms start around autumn and continue well into the winter. Some of the more common symptoms of SAD include:
- Lack of energy
- Memory loss
- Sleep problems
- Change in appetite or weight
- Problems concentrating
A common and readily available treatment for SAD is light box therapy. Light boxes provide a measured amount of balanced spectrum light, which is thought to assist in helping our body’s serotonin from being transformed into the sleep hormone melatonin. Melatonin helps regulate our circadian clock (sleep and wake cycles).
During the seasons where people are exposed to greater amounts of sunlight, serotonin levels are high and people often are less inclined to feel sleepy, tired and depressed. It is thought that light boxes can mimic natural sunlight and therefore maintain and/or increase serotonin.
Don’t grab the bottle of antidepressant pills. With a little education and information, you may find that there are better choices to deal with seasonal disorders.
Daily diet also plays an important role in those experiencing the winter blues. According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, a vitamin D deficiency may affect mental health. Choosing a healthy, vitamin-rich diet is one of the ways to help beat the winter blues. Foods such as salmon, eggs, fortified breakfast cereal and even mushrooms are ideal for helping boost your vitamin D levels. While doses may vary from person to person, research indicates that doses as low as 1,000 and 5,000 international units are often effective. (Talk to your medical provider about a vitamin D dose that may be safe for you.)
In addition to vitamins, our food choices during the winter months may also play an important part in relieving the symptoms of SAD. Tryptophan-rich foods such as lean meat, fish, legumes, nuts and fruits like bananas, figs and prunes have been shown to assist in increasing serotonin levels.
With the onset of winter, moods, anxiety and health issues change. It’s important to be aware of the signs and to assist anyone who may struggle with winter disorders. You could make a difference in someone’s quality of life.
Judson Haims is the owner of Visiting Angels Home Care in Eagle County. He is an advocate for our elderly and is available to answer questions. Connect with him at jhaims@visitingangels.com.
