Viva Brighton Issue #46 December 2016

HEALTH
.....................................................
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Beating the winter blues
‘‘In ancient times, in winter, we’d huddle in caves,
round the fire, and we’d eat the salted meat and
whatever else we’d stored, and we’d pretty much
hibernate. We were supposed to. Then later, when
we became farmers and tilled the soil, we’d go to bed
at 4pm,” says Marilyn Deane, one of the trainers on
the Beating the Winter Blues course at Brighton &
Hove Recovery College.
Many in the neuroscience world would argue that
we’re still supposed to hibernate, or at least to sleep a
great deal longer during the darker months. The Suprachiasmatic
Nucleus (SCN), aka our body clock,
is located near the visual region of the brain, and
is thus strongly affected by what we see. When it’s
dark, the SCN triggers secretion of melatonin, the
hormone that makes us feel sleepy. In other words,
the less sunlight there is, the higher levels of melatonin,
and the more sluggish and drowsy we feel,
which doesn’t bode well when we wake up on dark
December mornings. Low levels of sunlight also result
in lower levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter
connected with mood and appetite. And so arise
the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):
persistent low mood, lethargy, wanting to sleep
more, and craving carbs to kickstart dipping energy
levels and temporarily elevate mood. We can quibble
about whether we should be specifically diagnosed,
but there aren’t many of us who hurl our hats in the
air and whoop as the daylight hours become shorter.
If the electric light hadn’t been invented, enabling us
to remain awake and work long after sundown, then
we’d probably still be living in sync with the seasons.
So it’s Thomas Edison we should be berating for
getting our SCNs out of whack and exacerbating the
incidence of SAD.
The right kind of lightbulbs, though, in the form of
a Light Box, can be just the ticket for lessening SAD.
A Light Box simulates natural sunshine, and if you
wake up on a winter morning and have 30 minutes of
rays, melatonin will be released in the early evening
rather than earlier in the day, resulting in sleep at the
end of the evening rather than fatigue throughout
the day.
Eating fruit and veg that are rich in antioxidants and
anthocyanins - colourful fare, basically - is central
to keeping SAD at bay. Supplements of Vitamin D,
‘the sunshine vitamin’, can play a pivotal role, too.
Exercise, be it yoga, running, or whaling the tar out
of a punchbag, is also crucial. Or even creating “a
summer room or space that reminds you of summer
and makes you feel happy.
“The last lesson on the course is about Christmas
and how to cope with it. Back in 1840, apparently,
you’d send a tiny greetings card, and that would be it.
These days, it’s become a challenge, a list of all these
things that you ‘must do’ and that can make you ill.
Instead, ask yourself ‘What Christmas do I want?’”
Andy Darling
Brighton & Hove Recovery College
southdownhousing.org
....93....