Brighter days should bring brighter moods

It’s April, and millions of Americans feel better than they have in months.

That’s because days are getting longer and the sun is finally shining. In the winter months, many people, especially in the north, struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Cleveland Clinic describes SAD as “a type of depression triggered by a change in seasons, usually when fall starts. This seasonal depression gets worse in the late fall or early winter before ending in the sunnier days of spring.”

Blake Mayes, counselor at Minnehaha Academy, agrees that mental health becomes more of a challenge for people in the winter. Common symptoms of SAD include persistent sadness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, anxiety, decreased energy and oversleeping.

But what exactly makes the winter months cause this? It’s all about the light exposure we have. The vastly decreased amount of sunlight exposure in the winter disrupts our circadian rhythms.

Seasons affect the amount of light we’re exposed to, light exposure affects our circadian rhythms, and our circadian rhythms affect our health; understanding how to keep your circadian rhythms stable is crucial to a healthy mind and body.

Circadian rhythms are the body’s 24-hour biological rhythms, which govern our physiological, behavioral and hormonal processes. Simply put, it’s our body’s internal clock. It affects us in numerous ways, telling us when to go to sleep and wake up, digestion, body temperature, hormones and more. This means if our circadian rhythms get screwed up, it’s not good.

Ali Heshmati, who studies circadian rhythms as a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, told The Talon that paying attention to circadian rhythms can make a major impact—good or bad—on health.

“Disruption of circadian rhythms is highly associated with a number of acute and chronic disorders and diseases, some of which are life-threatening,” said Heshmati. “Some cancers, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and overweight problems, type II diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, depression, bipolar disorder, and SAD are a few of the known chronic diseases associated with the disruption of the circadian rhythms.”

Light and dark have the biggest effect on circadian rhythm, according to the Cleveland Clinic. So if you’re exposed to light at the wrong times, for example, having bright lights on at night, that can disrupt your circadian rhythm. But also if you’re not getting enough light during the day, that can as well. Basically, use the natural timing of the sun as your guide; when it’s light out, soak up that light. When it’s dark out, dim your lights.

Many other things can influence your circadian rhythm, including stress, physical activity, travel, and poor sleep habits. So it’s important to keep those in mind as well to keep yours in check.

There are several ways SAD is treated. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) says it’s treated with light therapy, psychotherapy, antidepressant medication, and taking vitamin D. Light therapy “aims to expose people with SAD to a bright light to make up for the diminished natural sunlight in darker months,” said NIMH. This treatment works best if it’s done in the first hour of waking up. The light should be 10,000 lux and should be used for 20-40 minutes.

Psychotherapy is a common approach to treating SAD and other mental health struggles. Mayo Clinic defines psychotherapy as “an approach for treating mental health issues by talking with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or another mental health provider.” It’s been proven to help “around 75% of people who enter psychotherapy show some benefit from it,” said the American Psychiatric Association.

Antidepressants are another treatment that has been shown to help with lots of mental health disorders, including SAD.

Additionally, taking vitamin D is a very popular treatment for the sadness that comes in winter. Especially in Minnesota, because of our northern latitude, it’s very common to have low vitamin D levels—and of course, considering our modern lifestyle, with most of our time spent indoors, lots of people aren’t getting enough of this vital vitamin.

Heidi Streed, school nurse at Minnehaha’s Upper School, said that Vitamin D deficiency can cause a lot of concerns including problems with sleep, increased sensitivity to pain, weakness, and fatigue.

Everyone can implement this knowledge of circadian rhythms to benefit themselves.

When asked how teens can use this knowledge, Heshmati said, “If one can be close to windows and/or outdoors right after one wakes up until 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon, that helps the positive synchronization with the natural environment” (helps circadian rhythms). “Towards the evening and night, one has to reduce their light exposure to a minimum, around 10 lux of light, specifically three hours before the habitual sleep time. Light at night can disrupt the timing of sleep and circadian rhythms with adverse effects. Avoiding bright screens, especially 3 hours before bedtime, is very important.”

This could be done by simply dimming your lights. Nancy Cripe, Honors Anatomy and Physiology teacher, also suggests turning your screens off or wearing blue light glasses while using them after the sunsets.

“These steps would help one to stabilize their circadian rhythms and promote a healthy inner environment, which can boost the immune system as well as provide energy for activities during the day. Bright light during the day can also help with focus, cognitive performance, and a positive mood. So one can actually perform much better as a student performing these biohacks,” said Heshmati.

We should think of light as an imperative nutrient, supporting our physical and mental health. So let there be light—just not at night.