Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a kind of depression caused by
the effect of the change of seasons as early as August or September in
men and women and may be recognized by things as simple as eating or
sleeping more during winter than the rest of the year.
The National Institute of Health realized about this disorder during
the 1970s although it has existed for centuries. This entity realized
about SAD after have asked people if they noticed they were eating and
sleeping more over winter.
Experts and new research discovered that the best way to fight this
disorder is to add cognitive behavior therapy or "talk therapy" to the
mix of using anti-depressant drugs and light therapy, the traditional
approaches to treat SAD.
SAD symptoms are not only winter blues and subtle changes in eating and
sleeping but also cravings for sweets and starches, fatigue,
irritability, social withdrawal and depression, changes which disappear
during spring and summer.
Although there are many theories about SAD, experts highlight that
production of melatonin, a sleep hormone related to depression, may
increase over winter. Meanwhile, the amount of serotonin, which is a
brain chemical triggered by sunlight, is thought to increase with the
lack of sunlight.
As there is evidence that light intensity and temperature also may play
a role in developing SAD the related depression can vary. It is also
known that the percentage of people with affective disorder increases
with increasing latitude, as shorter days seem to trigger symptoms.
There exist several ways to treat SAD and experts think that the first
approach should be light therapy. But patients with seasonal depression
may respond better to treatment when the therapy is combined with
medication.
