Do you feel tired and sluggish in autumn? If so, this is probably not abnormal. All of nature around us is slowing down and getting ready to rest. It is estimated that up to 20 % of the population suffers from a mild form of sluggishness and low mood in the fall and winter. But if every year with the arrival of autumn you lose energy, you are abnormally inefficient and sleepy, you overeat, you don't enjoy anything... and in spring it passes by itself, then you may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder.
For millions of years man has been in sync with nature and has followed its cycles. He was more active in the summer and slept a lot in the winter.
Modern times force us to ignore these natural rhythms and function the same way whether it is hot or cold, light or dark.
And modern technology allows us to do that. We can heat and cool our air, we can shine at night, we can eat oranges in winter, and we cheerfully break the laws of physics as we fly thousands of miles through the air. We might think that we don't really care about natural cycles. Until our bodies remind us that we're still more connected to nature than we think.
How light synchronises us
Photosensitive (i.e. light-sensitive) cells were probably already present in the "lowest" prehistoric organisms. Plants and all animals have them. Why did they evolve? The evolutionary purpose of biorhythms is to prepare for and adapt to periodic changes in the external environment. The most striking cyclical change is the cycle of day and night, the alternation of light and dark. It governs the rhythms of activity and rest, energy expenditure and wear and tear (day) and rest (night) that we subjectively perceive. Many hormonal, metabolic and cellular changes take place during sleep, such as protein synthesis and cell regeneration.
The main neurohormone that gives the internal clock information about the external environment, i.e. synchronizes us with the actual duration of day and night, is melatonin.
Melatonin has a hypnotic, i.e. soporific effect in humans. Nocturnal creatures have the opposite effect, melatonin increases activity and alertness.
Melatonin is like a natural sleep hormone and its secretion depends on the amount of light.
As soon as it starts to get dark, melatonin rises and we start to get sleepy. At night, melatonin levels are 10-100 times higher than during the day. In the morning, as the light increases, melatonin secretion decreases and we wake up. (Ideally. Artificial lighting and modern lifestyles suppress these millennial biorhythms, forcing us to function when our bodies are actually at night. No wonder then that sleep disorders are dramatically increasing.)
Melatonin and light
The information about the amount of light enters the brain through the eyes and leads through nerve pathways to the pineal gland, which is the site of melatonin production.
Sight therefore has two functions: vision, but also adaptation to the rhythms of day and night.
Like the auditory system, it is not only for hearing, but also for maintaining balance. Very simply put, light passes through the eye into the brain, suppresses melatonin production, and we are (or should be) alert and active. In the dark, melatonin secretion is not blocked by light and we are sleepy, ideally falling asleep.
It works similarly with the changing of the seasons. The longer the day (in summer), the less melatonin is secreted. In autumn and winter, when the days get shorter, melatonin levels start to rise. This information is important for the timing of seasonal behavior (reproduction, stockpiling, hibernation, etc.).
Winter sleep?
Some animals, like bears, have got it right. They don't waste their strength and hibernate. It's the amount of daylight through melatonin that informs them when to do so. Homo sapiens receives the same light information as the polar bear, but unfortunately they can't hibernate. We used to follow natural cycles more closely.
In the summer, people got up at sunrise and worked physically all day, in the winter they slept much longer and didn't rush around too much.
How do we have it today? We wake up according to our working hours (and they still change due to the alternation of "winter" and "summer" time. We go to sleep as we please. There can be no question of slowing down and resting in the winter months. On the contrary. We get pre-Christmas stress, various deadlines and similar stressful situations towards the end of the year, i.e. exactly at the time when the amount of sunshine is lowest and we have the least energy. Nature didn't count on this, and it's been a lifelong problem for some of us.
We're sleeping less and less. Is Edison to blame?
In addition to not respecting the natural cycle of the year, we do not follow the rhythm of day and night. We are sleeping less and less. The light bulb has only been with us for just over 100 years, specifically since 1879. It was only around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries that electricity 'lit up' the world. And since then, total sleep time has been steadily decreasing. The universal spread of electric lighting is the main reason why most of humanity in developed countries suffers from chronic sleep deprivation.
For example, people who do not get enough sleep also have an increased tendency to store fat.
This is due to hormonal and metabolic imbalances caused by sleep deprivation (changes in the secretion of insulin, ghrelin, growth hormone, cortisol and others). It is primarily during sleep that regenerative processes, "cell repair" or immune reactions take place. What all can happen when we do not sleep enough on a permanent basis is for everyone to deduce.
SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER
We also know it as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
So a certain fatigue and despondency in autumn is basically natural. It is reportedly felt more strongly around 20 % of the population. For such "autumn blues" we do not need to visit doctors or psychologists, but rather nature and health food stores. However, for about 7 % of the population, the period from October to March is an ordeal when they can hardly function, are not amused, overeat, get fat and irritable. If this recurs every year, it is very likely to be a so-called seasonal affective disorder. This is a serious diagnostic category that causes great difficulty in the person's life and is recommended to be treated. Typical symptoms of SAD are depression, apathy, increased need for sleep, disinterest in activities and relationships, and increased appetite (especially for sweets). It is a true clinical depression, with feelings of inferiority and emptiness, loss of enjoyment of life, sometimes with irritability and persistent tension. SAD is more common in women. To be diagnosed, similar seasonal depression must have occurred for at least two consecutive years.
We are falling into hibernation?
However, it is usually many years before one realises the cyclical nature of the problems depending on the season. The problem is also that those around him (and often he himself) blame him for laziness, weak will, etc. Some people with SAD put on 6 or more kilos over the winter period because they are unable to control the compulsive need to eat. If it were possible, the person in question would crawl into bed with a supply of food (especially sweets) and come out of there in the spring. This is the practice of some animals such as the badger. In addition to true hibernation, there is also false hibernation, where animals remain inactive in their shelter but their body temperature does not drop. Occasionally they wake up from this state and come out. This is how badgers, for example, survive the winter.
But man cannot afford what the badger can. So he is forced to deal with and prevent his winter depression. An effective and safe treatment is phototherapy, or bright light therapy.
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Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder
1. All-day fatigue and lack of energy. A person finds it difficult to cope with his normal routine tasks, works automatically and without interest.
2. Increased appetite, especially abnormal need for sweets. Consequently, of course, weight gain, usually more than 6 kg. Some patients are able to lose weight during the spring and summer, but often only partially, so that their weight increases from year to year.
3. Increased need for sleep. Difficulty waking up in the morning, sleepiness and drowsiness during the day.
4. Decrease in libido (disinterest in sex).
5. Slowed thinking and reactions, impaired concentration.
6. Anhedonia: the person does not enjoy or take pleasure in anything.
7. Reluctance to social contact: withdrawn, uncommunicative or irritable.
These symptoms appear in autumn (October/November) and disappear on their own in spring (March).
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What to do with (under)winter depression?
The lighter forms of autumn decline are actually a natural response to the change of season. The body signals us, "Slow down, I want to rest."
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Try to feel your body better and accept its needs. After all, why can't we slow down a bit in autumn and winter and go to bed earlier when we feel we need to? (The badger certainly knows what it's doing ☺.) It does mean adapting a little, though. We probably don't get to do everything we'd like to in theory. We may also ignore some of the enticements that are offered to us at this time of year (sales promotions and post-season discounts on all sorts of things, Christmas markets, TV programmes, etc. etc.). If someone is happily pursuing that, that's their business. You follow your own rhythm.
Careful with stimulants
Of course, there are various unhealthy ways to extract the necessary energy - megadoses of coffee, energy drinks, sweets, stimulants. It works for a certain period of time, so one may start to think that one's energy reserves are bottomless. They're not. One day they will run out like fossil fuels and then it may manifest itself in the form of chronic fatigue syndrome, burnout syndrome, psychological disorder or some physical illness.
Lifestyle
Since we have to operate in winter, we cannot let things run completely free. Moving outdoors, eating right and getting enough light are a much better option than 10 coffees with a chocolate bar a day.
Go out
Try to spend at least 30 minutes in daylight every day, preferably in the morning. Whenever it is a clear day and the sun is shining, take advantage of this and "store" the sun's energy as a solar cell. A hundred years ago, 90 % people worked outside. Today we spend most of the day indoors and sunlight comes to us filtered through window glass, which is not the same as full spectrum outdoor light.
Food as medicine
Binge eating and increased sweet cravings are characteristic of seasonal affective disorder. Try to resist this urge. Chocolate or a doughnut may do you good in the short term, but the relief won't last long. The hunger will come again (for carbohydrates very quickly, as they spike your blood sugar) and you will feel remorseful. Try to eat whole grains and lots of protein. Limit "empty calories" - pastries, pasta, potatoes, sweets, sugary drinks. They will make you even more tired. Serotonin (the feel-good hormone) is increased by certain foods (legumes, bananas, avocados, nuts, flaxseed, leafy greens).
Vitamins and nutritional supplements
They can help, but usually not enough. You can try vitamin B, omega 3 (essential fatty acids), magnesium and coenzyme Q, for example.
Try Nervamin, a bioinformation product that is prepared from plants. THE NERVINE IS THE ENERGY ANCHOR OF MAN. The special bioinformative blend of essential herbs contained in the bioinformative preparation Nervamin, which harmonizes and soothes the whole personality, helps in a pleasant sleep and also in soothing coughs, yet is neither depressant nor addictive. Nervamine is an ideal helper in times of high stress, when it enhances the return of well-being and good mood. Nervamine also has a beneficial effect on the hormonal system.
Light it up!
We know that the main source of seasonal depression is lack of light. So brighten up your home and workplace as much as you can. Let in as much daylight as possible, and keep curtains and drapes open during the day. Shine strong light bulbs (it is better to use a strong bulb and carefully turn off the lights than to save money by using a weak bulb). Most important in terms of seasonal depression is morning light: shine as much as possible in the morning and have breakfast in a well-lit area.
There is no light like light. Buy bulbs with full spectrum "healthy" light. Conventional bulbs produce the most light in the yellow, red and infrared regions of the spectrum. UV (ultraviolet) radiation, important for some physiological processes, is completely absent. The predominance of the red part of the spectrum is disturbing and stress-inducing. Fluorescent lamps have a similar effect. Their light actually flickers imperceptibly - switching on and off hundreds of times a minute, which our brain registers and keeps it on tenterhooks. Most of the time we are not aware of these negative effects, but they have a negative effect on our body. Full-spectrum bulbs and lamps are more expensive, but they are the most similar to natural light.
PHOTOTOTHERAPY - treatment with bright light
For more severe seasonal affective disorder, intensive therapeutic phototherapy is appropriate. It is carried out using special illuminators that deliver high-intensity white light (approximately 10 000 lux). For comparison: an overcast winter sky gives an illumination of 3,000 lux, on a sunny summer day the illumination is up to 120,000 lux. Normal indoor lighting is around 300-500 lux. Light therapy works best in the morning. Today, there is a whole range of affordable devices on the market - lamps, "light boxes" and dawn simulators (from a set hour they start to shine with increasing intensity, so they wake us up like the sun in summer).
This article was published with the kind permission of of the magazine Sphere
casopis-sfera.cz / gnews.cz-HeK
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