SADness Is Coming – How To WIN The Winter Months
The transition from college to the place where dreams turn into a beige cube and code of conduct training, or “The Real World” was an interesting one. I actually liked my first job, that was when I finally got there. I didn’t mind the work, and had one of the coolest bosses in the business, as I accumulate my years in the workforce I become more and more grateful for that (although my current boss is awesome as well). The most tolling part of my day, by far was what I liked to call “The Rush Hour Party Hour”. At this twice-daily event I’d join thousands of strangers on the Long Island Expressway, playing music and preforming a synchronized break dance (literally). It was awesome! So awesome, that I started leaving my house earlier to try and become one of the dance leaders.
I’ll end the sarcasm train here (maybe), when I arrived each day I’d walk to my cube in the basement of Plant 25 and start watching movies working. Anyone who’s had a 9-5 knows the routine, although your parameters values (commute time, job satisfaction, boss coolness, etc.) would be unique to you, and add up to an overall happiness score. One day in November I distinctly remember arriving, as usual at 6:45am, walking into the building realizing “Whoa! It’s still dark out“, not thinking twice I rumbled down the stairs, lunch and coffee in hand, ambitious to dominate get through the day. Once 4:05pm hit, I swung open those heavy steel doors and became instantly dazed by the darkness. “Well, this Sucks” I didn’t need John Snow to tell me Winter was coming, but I could’ve used some help adjusting to this new life of darkness, unlike Bane I was not born in it.
WHAT IS SAD
The acronym is short for Seasonal Affective Disorder, it’s know as a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons. As you could’ve guessed, most cases do not occur in the summer, typically symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months [1]. Basically, it’s the winter blues, and I for one believe it kicks into overdrive on January 2nd, post holiday joy. The next three months can be compared to “North of the Wall” for many in the Northeast United States. If you’re like me, leaving the house is just a tad more changeling during these months, your sluggish both mentally and physically, while experiencing the winter pants shrinking phenomena first hand (I know, It’s bulking season). Like clockwork, every year, same story, but what’s causing all this to happen?
Getting to this S.A.D Point
This condition has a direct relationship with the distance you find yourself from the equator, the further you are, the more prevalent it becomes within a population. For us northers, winter solstice provides an annual low of ~9 hours of sunlight, and if you haven’t already heard, sunlight is one of our best friends in terms of managing daily biological operations. Lack of sunlight, is believed to be one of the main cause of this S.A.D affect [2]. It regulates so many important biological functions such as, gene expression, hormone production, neurotransmitter activity (like serotonin), as well as synthesizing Vitamin D [3] and releasing Nitric Oxide.
The combo of less daily sunlight and decreased direct exposure (due to our winter cloaks) has chemically altered our bodies to become sleepy, fat storing, sad, mood swing machines. Don’t worry, there is some hope! The first step is identifying that S.A.D could very well be affecting you, and although we can’t alter the tilt of the earth or manipulate the seasons, there are a few ways to combat S.A.D head on.
Jeez Smile John…
Kicking SAD’s Ass
Everyone experiences depressive episodes at some point or time, it’s part of the human experience. How could you ever live in a state of true content if you’ve never felt the other side of the spectrum. The goal for me (as I would assume many) is to build a life where the happy, content and fulfilling emotional states drastically outweigh the depressive ones. I know, it just seems so much easier on a beach in the middle of July instead of under a blanket fending off the great frost of January.
My philosophy is to be “Putting Myself In a Position to Win” at all times, in other words control what can be controlled, consume and analyze the abundant sources of available information and make educated decisions on how to optimize and adapt to the situations at hand. In those winter months that means making an extra effort to get some sunshine, workout and eat right:
- Finding Light – It’s advantageous to expose yourself to sunlight within the first ten minutes of waking, this will signal the brain that it’s time to GET UP! Fifteen minutes of direct sun exposure will also supply you with sufficient Vitamin D to cover the next few days. If it’s a nice winter day, take advantage. If not, light therapy has also been used to supplement that mighty ball of fire in the sky. Speaking of supplements, It may be beneficial to supplement Vitamin D if you find yourself entering work when it’s dark and leaving when it’s dark. If I only knew…
- Sweat Therapy – Is there anything sweat can’t do, I like to call it the best mood boosting prescription on the market, well at least the precursor to sweat – Exercise. If you’re an early bird like me and beat the sunrise each morning, it’s a great way to send your body a DM that it’s time to wake-up.
- Good Mood Food – A healthy diet is important at all times, but especially when nature is stacking the odds against you. You’re already battling the environmental factor, why heighten the affects with a poor, highly processed diet? Eat Real Foods! Fruits, Veggies, Grass Fed Meats. Remember, everything you put inside your mouth is an investment, with short and long term affects.
Of course there are a few medications that can help but that’s a conversation to have with your doctor. The key is to NOT accept that SAD is an untreatable condition. What’s the point in spending 3-4 months a year in a degraded emotional and psychological state? Over an 80 year lifetime, that’s roughly 26 years! We to often fall victim to the trap of our own ignorance and acceptance, become your own n=1 experiment and make those 4 months each year your bitch.
