The SAD Disorder; The Truth About Seasonal Depression

By Zach Smith

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Gonzales

Do you ever feel like your life is boring, slow, or somewhat depressing in the winter? Don’t worry, you’re not alone in the feeling. In fact, I commonly feel slow or groggy in the winter too. It’s much more common than you would think. Living in Colorado, I think my seasonal depression is much more diminished due to winter activities and the natural beauty remaining throughout the mountains in winter. However, I still feel the heavier weight on my blanket when waking up, and the overall lack of energy, no matter how much sleep I get.

This feeling, believe it or not, has been researched for years, eventually leading to an explanation for the phenomenon. The thing you are feeling is called SAD (seasonal affective disorder). It is more common for people living farther north, and for those with underlying mental disorders such as BPD (borderline personality disorder), bipolar disorder, or those with previous depression issues. Furthermore, the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) says, “SAD occurs much more often in women than in men.”

So, what causes SAD? The most common kind of SAD, winter-pattern SAD, is observed as serotonin levels lower in the brain, which is a “happy chemical”. This is likely caused by a lack of sunlight, which promotes the release of serotonin. The NIMH also states that, “Vitamin D deficiency may exacerbate these problems in people with winter-pattern SAD because vitamin D is believed to promote serotonin activity […], the body produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight on the skin.”

This explains why you may feel more sad or down during the winter, giving the “winter blues” a medical diagnosis. Now to explain the feeling of that heavy blanket in the morning. Personally, when I wake up in the morning after a fresh blanket of snow has coated the world around me, and the trees are white with frost, my blanket feels like a hundred-pound weight.

Once again this problem is due to the pesky sun. The human body has evolved over millions of years to run on the solar cycle. This leads to hormone production and/or release being triggered or caused by the presence of sunlight.

One of these hormones is the hormone Melatonin. You may know this one from its common use in gummy or pill form to make people more tired, which is what it does as a hormone that induces drowsiness and sleep. The part of the hormone that is affected by sunlight is the ending of its release, which is induced by sleep or lack of sunlight.

This makes winter’s long nights and short days the villains for people who have late nights, or early mornings. The lack of sunlight and vitamin D is cause for a more natural release of melatonin, with a lack of the regulating power of the morning sun, causing the coziest time of the year.

So finally we have found the culprit, the lack of sun is what causes your winter disturbances. Lack of vitamin D causes lowered serotonin production and usage. When in tandem with the lack of morning sun to regulate melatonin levels, winter commonly calls for groggy, slow mornings. There is something you can do to combat it though, supplementing with vitamin D and getting consistent exercise have been shown to majorly decrease the probability of SAD disorder.