The Impact of Seasons on Mood
Do you ever notice feeling more down during certain times of year, such as in the winter or early spring? Or maybe you notice that you tend to feel happier on bright and sunny summer days? You’re not alone, and it’s also not “all in your head.” Read on to see some of the reasons behind this, what you can do about it, and when to know if you might benefit from some additional help.
The effect of seasons on how you feel has a very biological basis. In the winter, certain chemicals in your brain decrease, which can affect your sleep and mood. For example, reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin, which is one of the main chemical messengers that helps you to feel happy. It can also lead to changes in levels of melatonin, a hormone that helps you to sleep. This might be due in part to changes in the amounts and timing of sunlight during some parts of the year compared to others.
While the variation in mood depending on the seasons can be frustrating, especially as we feel winter approaching, much of the time these changes are normal and manageable. However, there are some times where you are experiencing mood changes related to seasonal change that are beyond what we might expect. In these cases, the changes in mood are so extreme that they disrupt your life in some way and make it difficult to carry out your usual tasks. We call this level of mood difficulty Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD (very apt acronym, no?) is a mood disorder in which a person feels symptoms of depression (e.g. low mood, lack of motivation, too much or too little sleeping or appetite, thoughts of harming oneself, difficulty concentrating, losing interest in previously enjoyed activities, more moving more slowly or quickly than usual) with certain seasonal changes. Most people who have SAD notice that it occurs during the winter, but some experience it during the summer instead. If you are noticing mood symptoms that interfere with your life in some way, regardless of whether or not those symptoms seem to correspond with a particular season, consider seeking professional help. While there are some self-help tips, which I will talk about below, SAD is often too intense to be solved only through self-help. And even if you can, it doesn’t hurt to have some extra support.
There are some things that you can do to help yourself feel better when you have seasonal mood changes. One of these is to get some sunlight every day. And if you can’t, it may be worth investing in a light box, which is a special light that is brighter than a regular lightbulb and can help compensate for lack of sunlight.
Basic self-care measures also can help with seasonal mood changes, including eating as well as you can, sleeping as much as you need to for your body, having some regular social interaction, and maintaining a regular routine. Keeping track of your mood by both day and time of day (morning, afternoon, and evening) can also help you to find other factors that may be making things easier or more difficult for you.
In addition, thinking about things that you might do during other seasons but aren’t doing during seasons where you are depressed might help in thinking about what else could be helpful. For example, maybe in the warm months you enjoy taking walks outside, but stop doing this when it becomes too cold out. Maybe the lack of exercise is contributing to your low mood, and finding exercise that you can do inside during the winter can help balance out those effects.
I hope some of this was helpful. And remember that this season will eventually end. No matter how difficult things are right now, you can return to a time where you can enjoy and feel fulfilled in life.
