You may notice that you have less energy than usual, feel less productive and creative, need more sleep, feel sad, down, or depressed, and have less control over your appetite as the daylight time gets shorter in the fall or when there is a series of cloudy days. If so, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder (more commonly known as SAD). If you think this may be an issue for you, spending more time outdoors, or near windows when you are indoors, can relieve this problem, which tends to be worse for people who live in the north and in places where it is cloudy much of the time. You can supplement your light with bright or full spectrum light in doors or by using a specially manufactured light box. You may want to plan ahead, knowing that the fall and winter are hard times for you and that you need to take very good care of yourself and get as much outdoor light as possible. If you increase the light in your life, you may notice changes in the way you feel right away, or after 4 or 5 days. Do you think you have SAD?
If so, what are you going to do about it?
Sourced in November 2013 from:
Center for Mental Health Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15-99
Rockville, MD 20857
SMA-3718
