Seasonal Affective Disorder: Why Does It Become Common During Rainy or Winter Seasons?

As the US heads toward its second winter this year under the pandemic, the season also seems to be the perfect time to feel blue. Many even experience worse than that because they start to see everything in gray because they suffer from the seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

This biological and mood disorder typically manifests in many people beginning in late autumn or early winter. But as the season gets colder, their symptoms also worsen and will only fade in spring or summer. So, what's the deal with SAD?

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Seasonal Affective Disorder: Why Does it Become Common During Rainy or Winter Seasons?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder is mood changes that begin and end when seasons change, according to the National Institutes of Health. When the days get shorter in the autumn and winter, people start to feel down or "winter blues," which could be more serious for people with SAD.

Their daily activities are affected, as well as how they feel, think, and handle themselves. This disorder is also sometimes called the winter-pattern SAD or winter depression, being the type of depression that occurs during this time of the year. However, some also experience it during spring and summer, which is called the summer-pattern SAD.

Signs and Symptoms of SAD

SAD is a type of depression with recurrent seasonal patterns and has symptoms that last about four to five months a year. Most of these symptoms are associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) and some specific symptoms for the winter-pattern SAD and the summer-pattern SAD.

For MDD, symptoms could include feeling depressed most of the day or nearly every day, loss of interest, changes in appetite or weight, problems in sleeping, sluggishness or feeling agitated, low energy, hopelessness and worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, and suicidal thoughts.

Meanwhile, symptoms specific to winter-pattern SAD include hypersomnia, overeating or excessive craving for carbohydrates, weight gain, and social withdrawal. Some particular symptoms for summer-pattern SAD may also include insomnia, poor appetite or weight loss, restlessness and agitation, anxiety, and violent behavior.

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What Does Seasonal Change Have to Do With SAD?

As Seattle Times reported, the cause of SAD is not entirely clear. Although studies point out that people with SAD may have disrupted serotonin and melatonin levels during specific seasons, particularly during rainy and winter seasons.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, while melatonin is the hormone that helps maintain the normal circadian rhythm. Disruption to these two makes it hard for people to adjust and regulate their mood during seasonal changes, which explains why it mainly occurs when the day is shorter and the night is longer, like in areas in the northwestern part of the country.

"Seasonal affective disorder is often caused by changes in our circadian rhythm, that internal natural clock that runs our sleep, our mood, and our appetite," explained Cleveland Clinic psychologist Susan Albers to News Jax. "When there is a shift in the season and our access to daylight, our bodies struggle to adjust to the new light and time frame."

So, how do we treat SAD? A quick search online would say to take vitamin D and B12, but a 2020 systematic review showed that using nutrition to reduce SAD symptoms may be harmful if the person needs mental health support.

One of NIH's recommendations is to use light therapy by sitting in front of a special lightbox for bout 30 to 45 minutes a day to make up for the missing sunlight during winter. Although psychotherapy and antidepressant medications also help and good nutrition too, it is not a stand-alone option.