When the sun is shining, many people seem happier and friendlier than when it is raining. As soon as the autumn storms set in in September, many people begin to feel downhearted or even depressed. Usually this is not a real one depression, but only a slight form of it. Some people do experience such severe complaints that we can speak of a ‘winter depression’.
In English, the term ‘SAD’ is used, which stands for ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’. Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from winter depression every year. Women feel depressed three to four times more often than men.
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For this article we collaborated with Gezondheidsplein.nl. There you will find many more articles on health, checked by doctors and medical specialists.
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Symptoms of winter depression
The symptoms of winter depression often start in your twenties, but children can also suffer from it. If you have winter depression, you may experience the following psychological symptoms in the winter months:
When you suffer from winter depression you can also experience physical symptoms such as:
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The causes of winter depression are not yet fully known. However, researchers have established that the amount of daylight influences the ‘melatonin level’. Melatonin is one hormone that is created in the evening and that causes you drowsy is becoming. Melatonin thus ensures a healthy day and night rhythm (biological clock). In winter – when there is little daylight – concentration is possible melatonin are also high during the day. As a result, people with winter depression also feel bad during the day moe.
Happiness hormone
In addition, if you produce a lot of melatonin, you often also have lower levels of the happiness hormone serotonin. These two hormones are formed from the same substance. Serotonin plays an important role in mood, self confidence, sexual activity, emotions and appetite. Too low a concentration of this can contribute to a feeling of depression.
Experiences or developments in childhood, tensions and other problems can also play a role in the development of depression in winter. It is especially important to know when the depression occurs and how to deal with it.
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Treatments for winter depression
You can go to your doctor with your complaints. There are a number of treatments available for winter depression. Your doctor initially recommends light therapy with lamps. With such a treatment, the emphasis is on the amount of light you should receive per day to reduce your complaints. There are several light therapy lamps on the market. There are also lamps that you can purchase yourself for at home. You can also contact various institutions.
light therapy
- light therapy works best when you sit in front of the lamp for half an hour in the morning. It is possible in the evening sleep problems cause.
- The intention is that you are not too far from the lamp and that you look into the lamp. Through your eyes a ‘daylight’ signal will be sent to you brain passed on that your melatonin levels drop. This will restore your biological day and night rhythm and make you feel less moe and gloomy.
In winter, the light intensity outside varies between 2000 and 10,000 lux – indoors this is many times lower (between 0 and 500 lux). A high-sun day, on the other hand, quickly has a light intensity of 100,000 lux. A normal lamp that does not get more than 500 lux and a tanning bed that mainly emits ultraviolet light are therefore not effective enough against winter depression. The light intensity of a light therapy lamp is therefore many times higher than that of a normal lamp: half an hour a day for a lamp with an intensity of about 10,000 lux is a good dose to get rid of your complaints.
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Melatoninetabletten
Sometimes the doctor will write to you melatoninetabletten for which you should take in the evening before going to bed. Melatonin makes you fall asleep earlier – that’s why these tablets are often used by people with sleeping problems. You have to take into account that melatonin is not a registered medicine and is therefore generally not reimbursed.
Antidepressants
Antidepressants are sometimes also prescribed for people with winter depression. These are drugs that affect substances in your brain that affect your mood (neurotransmitters). Antidepressants are only given in extreme cases against winter depression, because they are different side effects have, including:
Vitamin D
Some people with winter depression benefit vitamin D supplements. Whether these supplements actually work is still unknown. There is no scientific evidence for its positive effect. Often a healthy lifestyle Enough. Do you want to know whether vitamin D supplements can help you to reduce the complaints? Then contact your doctor.
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Tips: reduce your winter depression
What can you do yourself to reduce the symptoms of winter depression?
- Do not stay in bed. When you get up early, you let your biological clock know that the day has started and your body needs to wake up.
- Always have breakfast. This also lets your biological clock know that your body needs to wake up.
- Go outside. Not only does your body wake up, blue light also inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
- Exercise enough. For example, try to use the bicycle more often instead of the car. During exercise you also produce endorphins, which gives you a positive boost. An additional advantage of exercising outside: you get more daylight ‘inside’, so you will feel fitter.
- Start your own light therapy. For example, there are so-called ‘wake up lights’: an alarm clock without sound, which mimics the sunrise. This way you wake up naturally and calmly.
- Eat healthy. Met vegetables fruit and oily fish keep your body and mind healthy.
- Plan something fun. Then you have something to look forward to, which gives you positive energy. You can also recall and write down nice memories.
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