Why We Get the Winter Blues |
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It’s been a very long winter for those of us who live in the northeast United States. We’ve had several big snowstorms—one of which left me stuck in Arizona for several days—and a major arctic outbreak that resulted in freezing temperatures for weeks. Some states experienced their coldest winter in decades, and there were even reports from Florida of iguanas freezing and falling out of trees.
But winter didn’t just bring freezing temperatures; it also brought with it a wave of seasonal depression, or what some call seasonal affective disorder, or appropriately SAD. SAD affects about 5 percent of adults, and milder forms of “winter blues” affect up to 20 percent of people. It is most common in higher latitudes, like New Hampshire, and less common in places like Florida, where it’s typically warmer (regardless of falling iguanas) but affects people all over the world.
International studies, for example, have shown that while the prevalence rate for SAD is only about 3 percent in Saudi Arabia (where the sun shines reliably for most of the year), it’s 19-21 percent in places like Alaska and Norway that experience long periods of reduced sunlight. In fact, one study showed that over 40 percent of people living in Alaska experience some form of the winter blues, even if they don’t reach full criteria for SAD (Drew and colleagues 2021).
SAD is a psychological diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-5—the bible of the mental health world, but not as its own thing. Instead, SAD is listed as a subtype of major depressive or bipolar disorder. This is because the symptoms for all of these diagnoses are similar: depressed mood, feelings of hopelessness, decreased energy, increased need for sleep, weight gain, fatigue, difficulty waking, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and withdrawal from regular social activities (Galima and colleagues, 2020; Swedo and colleagues, 1995). The only difference between these disorders and SAD is that people with major depressive and bipolar disorders experience symptoms all year round, and people with SAD only experience them in the fall and winter and then go into “remission” in the spring and summertime.
Research has shown that serotonin—the hormone that regulates mood, sleep, appetite, and digestion—varies across the seasons. Changes in light availability mess with our physical timetable, or circadian activity rhythm, which causes our serotonin to become dysregulated in the winter. A body with a botched circadian rhythm means it doesn't know when it should be asleep or awake, and the extra darkness might tell our bodies it’s time to be asleep (causing the fatigue). Dysregulated serotonin leads to less mood stability, causing depressive symptoms, and could lead to carbohydrate-rich eating behaviors (which possibly explains why SAD is associated with weight gain). It’s not super surprising that many of us experience symptoms of SAD, or the “winter blues.”
There is also research showing that there is a genetic component to SAD. For example, twin studies have shown that pairs of identical twins (who share all of the same genes) are twice as likely to both have SAD when compared to fraternal twins (who only share half of their genes), suggesting that there is some genetic component to SAD making some people more vulnerable when compared to others (Galima and colleagues, 2020). Research has also shown that young people and women are also at greater risk. Women are up to five times more likely than men to experience symptoms of SAD (Field, 2024). People with more anxious temperaments are also more susceptible (Iorio and colleagues, 2024)
This all suggests that SAD and its symptoms are part of a process that many of our bodies go through quite naturally. However, knowing that it’s natural doesn’t necessarily help lift our mood when it’s mid-February, and it’s snowing for the third time in two weeks. What do we do to pick ourselves up off the floor during these long winters? One thing that has been shown to help is exercising or going to the gym (Drew and colleagues, 2021). Another is to get outside the house and socialize, however hard that may be. Exercising and socializing can create the physical activity your body needs to lift your mood. In more serious cases, antidepressants and therapy are effective in alleviating symptoms of SAD. Light therapies that involve sitting in front of non-thermal light fixtures for 30 minutes a day have been shown to help in more serious cases. But for lesser symptoms, unfortunately, we have to wait till spring.
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Although it was 38 degrees when I left the house this morning, it’s finally April, and I’m starting to see the trees grow greener and daffodils coming up from their winter sleep, so relief is right around the corner. But until we turn that spring corner, get outside and soak up the sun as much as you can, and know that there is a literal light about to shine through this cold winter tunnel.
Drew, E. M., Hanson, B. L., & Huo, K. (2021). Seasonal affective disorder and engagement in physical activities among adults in Alaska. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 80(1), 1906058.
Field, T. (2024). Seasonal affective disorder: a narrative review. Journal of Clinical Psychology and Neurology, 2(1), 1-8.
Galima, S. V., Vogel, S. R., & Kowalski, A. W. (2020). Seasonal affective disorder: common questions and answers. American Family Physician, 102(11), 668-672.
Iorio, C., Barlattani, T., Pacitti, F., Iorio, P., & Pompili, A. (2024). The role of affective temperaments as a factor of vulnerability to seasonal affective disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 364, 96-103.
Swedo, S. E., Pleeter, J. D., Richter, D. M., Hoffman, C. L., Allen, A. J., Hamburger, S. D., ... & Rosenthal, N. E. (1995). Rates of seasonal affective disorder in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152(7), 1016-1019.
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