At Penn State, we often experience pretty serious winters. Some people love the snow and the winter, but others have a much harder time with it. This is more than them just not liking that particular season. Why does Seasonal Affective Disorder occur?
photo from http://tl.fanpop.com/clubs/random/images/24012675/title/sad-photo
Some people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) when the weather changes. According to MayoClinic,“Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year”. It says that it usually starts in the fall and goes through the winter months.
The symptoms of SAD, according to this article, are pretty similar to the symptoms of clinical depression. Some of the symptoms include “Lack of energy to do everyday tasks”, “Feelings of guilt and worry”, and “Social and relationship problems”. The difference between SAD and Clinical Depression is that people with SAD only feel these symptoms during certain seasons.
The causes of SAD are listed on this website. The two statements that I find most interesting from this site are “Chemical changes in the brain caused by changes in the amount of sunlight are probably involved. Risk factors for SAD include living in geographical locations that are dark or cloudy during the winter” and “Low levels of vitamin D seem to be a risk factor for developing a number of mood disorders, including SAD”. We seem to be at risk, as students of Penn State. We experience winters that are often cloudy.
This study was done with three women who were Vitamin D deficient, and taking antidepressants. The study showed that as the women’s levels of Vitamin D went up the symptoms of depression went down. This is really hard to get conclusive evidence from because of several reasons. The study was very small, and there could’ve easily been third variables involved. On the same site, on the next page it talks about another reason why it is hard to say that SAD is a result of low Vitamin D for certain. Reverse causation could be an issue here. The site says, “People who have depression are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency because they stay indoors, don’t exercise too much, and are likely not eating a healthy diet.” It could logically make sense both ways, and that is why it is hard to tell.
In conclusion, I think that every Penn State student that feels a little more sad during the winter months should take extra Vitamin D. There are no studies that I can find that show any issues with taking Vitamin D supplements daily. Depression can be harmful to every aspect of life, so I think taking a vitamin a day to decrease the chance is definitely worth doing!
photo from http://orthopedicsurgerysandiego.com/vitamin-d-deficiency-as-a-child-could-prove-harmful-later-on/
It’s truly a interesting topic, that would bring me to nutrition store to get a lot of vitamins. The research on your post display the Vitamin D has the mysterious function of reduce depression. The two terms seem unrelated but can be related together. What I think is that, is there any third variable that vary the results of the research, so the Vitamin D and depression are in correlation not causation. But I would give it a try anyway to at least get some positive signals in my mind.
This is an interesting blog post. I know that in the winter time, I just want to stay in my bed and not move. I just become extremely lazy. I think that recommending that people take a vitamin D is a great idea because not only is Vitamin D good for us to avoid depression, but if you look here, you’ll see that vitamin D has many other benefits as well. These benefits include: calcium absorption, bone growth promotion, lower risk of disease, autism prevention, and much more.
I think this was a very interesting topic to cover. It inspired me to wonder about possible cures of Seasonal Affective Disorder, since someone suffering from this disorder can’t simply change the weather so that they can feel better. I found a study (link below) that tested the effects of bright light therapy on this disorder. The study mentions that other similar studies have found the placebo effect to be taking effect and also working well to appease this disorder. Therefore, researchers of this study paid close attention to differentiating between the placebo effect and the effect of the actual bright light condition. The conclusions they came to were that “bright light therapy had a specific antidepressant effect beyond its placebo effect, but it took at least 3 weeks for a significant effect to develop.” In addition, although the placebo effect and the effect of the bright light seemed to be comparable, researchers also found that, in the long run, the bright light exacted more of a permanent cure than did the placebo effect. Overall, the study provides evidence that is consistent with the null hypothesis that bright light therapy can treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. Hopefully, a practical application of these findings will result in a commonplace treatment of this disorder.
http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=204290&resultclick=1
This article is very interesting especially due to the long, cold winters we have here each year at Penn State. I actually do suffer from SAD every winter, and it is due to the fact that your body isn’t getting enough vitamin D. However, it isn’t necessarily the Vitamin D you get from Milk, it is the lack of Vitamin D from the sun during the winter months. You stay inside more, and you become susceptible to SAD because your skin isn’t receiving the Vitamin D, it needs from the sun. This is difficult for many students especially those who are already stressed about grades, work, and more. It becomes harder to get through the long winter here, so I think it is important to get this sunlight during the winter months.
This post describes the life of a Pittsburgh resident. Pittsburgh is a descent city, but I cannot stand the lack of sunshine. On average, Pittsburgh has 203 cloudy days a year, the fourth most of any major U.S. city. This lack of sunshine can be very depressing and it indeed causes a deficiency in vitamin D. For as long as I can remember, at every single doctor checkup, the only thing I was deficient in was vitamin D. Come to Pittsburgh during the winter and many people will appear to have seasonal depression, or maybe they’re simply depressed their Steelers lost that week.
With the winter being my favorite season of the year, it was interesting to hear a different perspective about an article that does not agree. However, I am one of the few that feel this way. YouGov states that research shows only 7% of people prefer a winter chill above all other times of the year. Before reading this article, I did not know that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) existed whatsoever. I did not think it was possible that a state of mind can change in addition to when the weather changes. It is hard to comprehend that the brain can release different chemicals, depending on the season your body is enduring. Living in a new state this winter, I am curious to see how SAD will affect my peers, and maybe even myself. In order to keep my winter spirits up, I plan to take vitamin D, and encourage others to do the same, as well as stay positive in the frozen winter months.