The article speaks about SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder, which graphs suggests have about 2-3% of people infected by it. The disease is infused due to the shortfall to the exposure of sunlight on a long term basis.
Often misinterpreted as a recurrence of winter blues SAD sadly is oft left unaddressed. SAD usually affect you at the fall or winter and sometimes gets the host during the early summers as well. The northern hemisphere are more prone to SAD as they are prey to shorter days in long winters. And statistics also reveal that women are more prone to this condition than men, especially if you have hit your 30s.Usual depression symptoms function as precursors to SAD as well, like withdrawal from family or friends, despair, cravings to sweets and carbs which thereby lead to weight gain, social seclusion, lack of energy, increased drowsiness etc. Any of the symptoms sighted above could be a warning, thus you should heed to it when you get one.
The reasons sited as the cause of SAD somehow link backs to sunlight or light in general. One such reason being the increased production of melatonin, a brain gland triggered hormone, which occur during darkness or nights inducing drowsiness in you. Serotonin is another neurotransmitter which has shown being influenced by sunlight exposure, lack of which could adversely affect serotonin functioning.
Prolonged nights or shortened days catalyse such mood or behavioural devising hormone changes in us, which thereby induce conditions of SAD in us. Now let us look at the treatment methods which effectively curb SAD. A combination of light therapy, medication, exercise therapy and complementary therapy has proven to tackle SAD conditions. An easy and much advised method is light therapy which would require the patient to be exposed to high intensity fluorescent light for a time of 2-3hours a day, at a distance of 1or 2 feet. This will set the brain chemicals and body rhythms in the right motion.
It could still take up 2-3 weeks to deflate you of any SAD effects. Antidepressants and certain herbal products are suggested at extreme cases, but only at the will of patient and as per the prescription from your doctor. Daily exercise is imperative to keep your body and mind healthy and help you counter depression. This is one of the best suggested prevention for SAD as well.
Let us conclude by looking into some of the other preventions. Having said physical exercise to keep your body healthy, I might as well add that it is only in a healthy body that a mind could function healthily. You should seek out the sun and spend as much time in sun as possible. Bask your skin with vitamin enriched sunlight which is the simplest thing you could do. Get away from the harsh winters and take a holiday to South. Last but not the least, stay alert to any depression signs including fatigue that your body sends you. Whenever you find yourself drowning and hit a low, don’t hesitate to take medical help.
Prevention, precaution and amendment could help you out of SAD easily and happily.
