What Causes The Winter Blues?

Winter Blues

Thanks to writer Kristie Leong, M.D. for the following article on banishing the winter blues.

Do you start to feel down as soon as the days grow shorter? Find out more about winter depression, what causes it - and what helps it.

Many people find the gray skies of winter, the chilling winds and frigid temperatures to be a downer. But for some people, cold weather brings on the winter blues and a dark cloud of depression that can makes it difficult for them to find pleasure in anything - or even get out of bed in the morning. What causes depression in winter, and why are some people more susceptible to it?

What Causes Winter Depression and the Winter Blues?

Some people think depression in winter is related to the frigid temperatures and cold weather, but studies show it’s low levels of light during the long winter months that sends people spiraling into depression until spring rolls around.

How do low light levels cause depression? When light enters the eye, it travels through the retina to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the portion of the brain that regulates circadian rhythms or the biological clock. This area of the brain controls such activities as sleep, state of alertness, activity, body temperature, hormone levels and the immune system under the influence of light and dark.  This system is very sensitive to light and when light levels are low, its activity can be thrown off.

How does all of this lead to depression in winter? Researchers speculate that lower light levels during the winter trigger changes in circadian rhythms in some individuals that lead to winter depression. Not everyone’s biological clock is so sensitive to fluctuations in light levels that they become depressed in the winter. People who develop winter depression may have a genetic susceptibility to feeling down that’s triggered by low light levels.

Depression in Winter: Beating the Winter Blues

Winter depression usually responds to light, which is why some depression people use a light box in the winter months to help them deal with the winter blues. These boxes are an artificial replacement for natural sunlight to help restore a person’s natural circadian rhythm. Research shows light boxes are effective in helping some people with winter depression.

Winter Depression: The Bottom Line?

Not all sadness and depression during the winter months is winter depression. Depression can also be non-seasonal. The good news is a recent study showed that non-seasonal depression may respond to light therapy too – offering a ray of hope for people who can’t seem to shake the winter blues.

References:

Cochrane Database Syst Rev.2004;(2):CD004050.

Medscape.com. “The Truth About Seasonal Affective Disorder”