If you’re feeling like you have less energy or your mood is lower than usual in the cold, dark winter months, you’re not alone. According to Clinical Health Psychology Professor Amy Wachholtz, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is especially common in northern climates—like Colorado’s.
SAD is a type of mood disorder that can occur in the winter months when the days are shortest. Those affected can experience some depression-like symptoms. Focusing can feel more difficult and challenging tasks can take longer. “People feel more sleepy, more tired, less cognitively engaged,” Wachholtz said. “Sometimes, it also affects their mood, so they might be more irritable, or they might have less patience.”
For some, SAD can also manifest in increased anxiety, and others might notice weight gain or appetite changes—especially increased cravings for carbohydrates. Regardless of how SAD manifests, Coloradans are among those most likely to experience it. So, what causes SAD? Read on to discover why SAD happens and what you can do about it, according to an expert.
What’s Unique About Seasonal Affective Disorder in Colorado?
“Seasonal affective disorder is an extremely common event that happens when we get less light,” Wachholtz said. So, you might think Coloradans would be poised to have it easier than most. After all, the Centennial State is said to get about 300 days of sunshine each year. But because of our distance from the equator, those days aren’t created equally.
At the peak of summer, the Mile High City enjoys almost 15 hours of sunlight in a day. In the depths of winter, that’s down to about nine and a half hours per day. That’s partly due to the long shadow of the Rocky Mountains: The Front Range gets around 20 to 30 minutes less sun each day than our peers on a similar latitude, like Kansas City. For the three months of each year when the sun sets earliest (in November, December, and January), that means it gets dark closer to 4:30 p.m.
Missing those five and a half hours of sunlight in the winter can have a huge impact on how we feel. When we get less vitamin D and miss out on as much bright morning light as we get in the summer, many people feel sleepier. “The historic way that [humans] used to deal with this is we just kind of shut down,” Wachholtz said. “We went to bed early, we didn’t really engage in a whole lot of stuff. But the modern lifestyle doesn’t really contribute to that schedule quite as easily.”
What To Do About Seasonal Affective Disorder
The good news is that days start getting longer again as the winter season progresses to spring. And, Wachholtz said that there are things people can do at home to help feel better in the coldest, darkest days of the year. Some common tips include starting your day with 30 to 60 minutes of full-spectrum light (or a high-lumen SAD lamp) and making sure you’re finding ways to get outside and be active year-round. You still get the physical and mental health benefits of exercise and time in nature, regardless of the temperature outdoors.
Importantly, Wachholtz distinguishes between two main groups of people who experience SAD: Those who are noticing some seasonal changes in how they feel, but are overall feeling OK, and those experiencing clinical SAD, whose symptoms are more serious and are affecting their daily life in a way comparable to clinical depression. “People who are experiencing full clinical onset, where it probably is going beyond seasonal affective and into full depression, I would really recommend talking to a licensed therapist,” Wachholtz said. She said some people might also benefit from talking to a prescriber, like a psychiatrist or prescribing psychologist.
If you are feeling the effects of SAD, know you are far from alone. “It’s something that we can point to and say, ‘This happens to an extremely high number of people,’” Wachholtz said. And, no matter what, winter always comes to an end.