BALANCE
Wellness
THE WINTER BLUES
Although you may be reading this in October and it’s still
technically fall not winter, many of you may already be feeling the
effects of the seasonal drop in sunshine. You know…that blah
‘I-just-want-to-stay-nestled-in-my-bed-in-my-pj’s-all-day’ feeling. Although this can have some appeal at the beginning of fall if
summer was hectic, too many of these days in a row can seriously
damage your health. As the days become shorter and temperatures cool, health care practitioners notice a spike in visits from
patients complaining of a collection of symptoms affecting their
mood and cognition.
Commonly referred to as the ‘winter blues’; the medical term is ‘seasonal affective
disorder’ or SAD. Although SAD is considered a minor type of depression that typically occurs during the winter months and is characterized by weight gain, fatigue,
irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, avoidance of social situations and a general loss of interest in usually enjoyable activities, in individuals already susceptible
to depression, the effects can be quite debilitating. In Canada, it is estimated that a
mild form of SAD (winter blues) affects approximately 25 percent of the population
whereas two to three percent of the population may be more severely affected.
It is believed that the root cause of SAD is a deviation from our circadian rhythms
or our natural sleep/wake cycle. The human eye contains transmitters that convey
signals to the brain to regulate certain hormones in the body, based on the type
of light the eye receives. When the eyes stop receiving light (or bright enough
light) our hormones get disrupted and this in turn disrupts many bodily functions including mood, appetite and sleep. Combined, these disruptions can lead
to weight gain, depression and decreased functioning of our immune systems.
The two hormones primarily altered by light are melatonin and its precursor hormone,
serotonin. Melatonin is our sleep hormone. Our bodies start naturally producing
40 | whiteoaksclub.com | fall 2013