Sad Winter? Consider SAD

During the winter months, the days get shorter and the nights longer. For many people--an estimated 6 to 10 percent of Americans--this change of schedule triggers a type of depression called seasonal affective disorder [SAD]. Symptoms can appear gradually or come on all at once, beginning in late fall then subsiding in spring--and often returning year after year.

SAD has been linked to biochemical changes in the brain that occur when daylight hours become shorter. Reduced sunlight affects the body's internal circadian rhythms or biological clock--which tell the body when to sleep or awaken.

When there is a lack of sunlight, the body takes it as a signal to increase the production of melatonin, a sleep-related hormone that has been linked to depression. Increased darkness also appears to affect the body's production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects mood. Low levels of serotonin have been linked to depression.

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