This disorder affects many people, particularly during the winter months or when there is not enough daylight. People who do not normally sufferer with any mental ill health can, particularly during December and January, suddenly feel very low and somewhat depressed. For those people who already have mental health issues, the winter months can sometimes cause a deepening of their symptoms.

What causes one to feel SAD ?

A lack of natural, full spectrum light, which reduces the amount of Melatonin secreted by the Pineal Gland.

The Pineal gland (part of the endocrine (hormonal) system) is a small cone shaped organ which sits in the centre of the brain (mystics call this the third eye). It converts incoming nerve impulses received as bio-electrical messages about the outside environment (full spectrum light) into outgoing hormones in the blood stream (vascular system).

During daylight the Pineal Gland , which is highly responsive to the amount of light to which we are exposed, releases very little melatonin but at night melatonin secretion triples to help regulate our circadium rhythms (internal clock, sleeping and waking cycles).

As melatonin rises and is secreted you begin to experience a hypnotic-like state which helps to bring sleep on. In the morning when daylight returns melatonin decreases again.

When you get lots of bright sunlight during the day Melatonin is secreted in the hours of darkness. When not enough full spectrum light is available during the day there will not be enough melatonin to be secreted. This will cause SAD and/or chronic depression.

There is always more to SAD than the above as one must take into consideration the whole of the person, their lifestyle, medical history, family history, childhood, career, stress and most importantly diet.

I would work on the principle that the person who has SAD will have some form of depression, linked to a hormonal issue and/or any of the above. More women than men suffer with this problem, or so we think, as men do not often admit to having any problems and this can sometimes be linked to Mothers who spend a lot of time indoors with their children during winter.

A good diet is essential, using wholefoods, preferably organic or better still biodynamic. These foods should be of the season so typically wintertime roots, leaves, stems, nuts, seeds.

Anyone, particularly with depression or SAD will require regular mealtimes and snacks to keep the blood sugar levels balanced and therefore energy at its peak.

The following is a list of vitamins and minerals specifically required and which foods they are available from.

B Vitamins found in the following foods listed in order of importance in my opinion, preferring more of the first 7 points as these are less taxing on the digestive system and unless the others are organic they can add to the load of not just digestion but the liver and immunity.

• Pulses (beans) lentils, chick peas
• Wholegrains (rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat etc), Wheatgerm
• Vegetables such as dark green leaves, mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes, avocado, squash, celery
• Spirulina and other sea vegetables (*see note below for vegan’s)
• Nuts and seeds
• Soya products
• Strawberries, bananas, dried fruits
• Fish
• Eggs
• Dairy products
• Meat and poultry
• Organ meats

A note on B12 for Vegans

Vegans using adequate amounts of fortified foods or B12 supplements are much less likely to suffer from B12 deficiency than the typical meat eater. The Institute of Medicine, in setting the US recommended intakes for B12 makes this very clear. “Because 10 to 30 percent of older people may be unable to absorb naturally occurring vitamin B12, it is advisable for those older than 50 years to meet their RDA mainly by consuming foods fortified with vitamin B12 or a vitamin B12-containing supplement.”  B12 need never be a problem for well-informed vegans.

*Spirulina – The vegetarian Society says this:

The only reliable unfortified sources of vitamin B12 are meat, dairy products and eggs. There has been considerable research into possible plant food sources of B12. Fermented soya products, seaweeds and algae have all been proposed as possible sources of B12. However, analysis of fermented soya products, including tempeh, miso, shoyu and tamari, found no significant B12.

Spirulina, an algae available as a dietary supplement in tablet form, and nori, a seaweed, have both appeared to contain significant amounts of B12 after analysis. However, it is thought that this is due to the presence of compounds structurally similar to B12, known as B12 analogues. These cannot be utilised to satisfy dietary needs. Assay methods used to detect B12 are unable to differentiate between B12 and it’s analogues, Analysis of possible B12 sources may give false positive results due to the presence of these analogues.

All these tests are, as yet, inconclusive, as are many tests for many reasons but it is worth being as sure as you possibly can and maybe it woulod be a good idea to have a blood test although it is said that a blood B12 level measurement is unreliable test for vegans, particularly vegans using any form of algae such as spirulina and some other plant foods containing B12-analogues (false B12) that can imitate true B12 in blood tests while actually interfering with B12 metabolism. Blood counts are also unreliable as high folate intakes suppress the anaemia symptoms of B12 deficiency that can be detected by blood counts. Blood homocysteine testing is more reliable, with levels less than 10 mmol/litre being desirable. The most specific test for B12 status is methylmalonic acid (MMA) testing. If this is in the normal range in blood (<370 nmol/L) or urine (less than 4 mg /mg creatinine) then your body has enough B12. Many doctors still rely on blood B12 levels and blood counts. These are not adequate, especially in vegans.

Other minerals

Magnesium

• From the food groups listed above

Chromium

• As above but particularly including root vegetables and green peppers

On top of this a good all round range of foods which are in season, ripened naturally, locally grown will enhance mood as will the colour of foods we see influence what we eat, this will be affected by the hormone system which is inextricably linked to SAD.

There are many reasons that people find they have this disorder. If you feel you have SAD, but are unsure, complete the online profile so that I can detect anything else that may be causing your symptoms and then offer a solution.

Circadian is Latin for “around the day” and circadian rhythms are regular changes in mental and physical characteristics that occur during the course of a day. The body’s biological clock which is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is a pair of pinhead sized structures of the brain that contain around 20,000 neurons. The SCN is situated in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus which is just above the point where the optic nerves cross. There are photoreceptors at the back of the eye (retina) that respond to light which then creates a signal that travels along the optic nerve to the SCN.

Signals from the SCN travel to several brain regions including the pineal gland. The pineal gland secretes the hormone melatonin and is influenced by the amount of light entering the eye over a 24 hour period, being highest at night and lowest at midday, thus making you sleepy at nightfall. Also the SCN governs functions that are synchronized with the sleep wake cycle such as hormone production, body temperature, hormone secretion, urine production and changes in blood pressure.

Scientists have worked on depriving people of light and other external time influences and have found that most people have a 25 hour biological time clock but because we are affected by sunlight, bright lights, the alarm going off, car doors banging or the neighbours coming home late singing – these rhythms are affected.

Jet lag, this is another one that disrupts the circadian rhythm you feel tired and sleepy when those who habitate in other climes are wide awake or vice/versa.

Shift and night workers, they are up when it is dark and trying to go to bed when it is light, thus the melatonin production has slowed down and sleep is difficult for some, others for whatever reason seem to cope very well.

What can be done to ensure one gets enough light ?

People suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder often use light therapy, this is when one is exposed to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light using lasers, LEDs, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light, for a certain amount of time and at specific times of the day depending on the problem or sleep patterns, also light therapy works with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) for the same reason, not enough daylight for some people although this disorder has other associations, see article on SAD

See the Chinese Clock too – this makes interesting reading…

So, what really happens when you shut those eyes and go to sleep ?

Sleep occurs in a cycle of 90-110 minutes and is divided like this; non REM (rapid eye movement), which is further split into four stages and REM sleep. Let me explain to you what this is all about.

Non REM sleep

Stage 1 Light sleep, this is when we are half awake and half asleep. Muscle activity slows down and you may start twitching slightly (not to be confused with restless leg         syndrome). At this point we can easily be awakened.

Stage 2 True sleep comes after about ten minutes of light sleep and lasts for about 20 minutes. Breathing slows down as does heart beat.

Stage 3 Deep sleep – is when the brain produces delta waves, which is a wave that has high amplitude and low frequency. Breathing and heart are very slow now.

Stage 4 Deep sleep – rhythmic breathing and limited muscle activity and if awakened at this time it is hard to adjust and people often feel disorientated for a few minutes. It is at this time that children experience bedwetting, night terrors and sleep walking can occur.

REM sleep

The first rapid eye movement begins around 70-90 minutes after we fall asleep. You have around three to five REM’s per night, the brain is quite active, although you are not aware of this (or should not be), and it is when most dreams occur. Breathing rate rises as does blood pressure but the body is completely still.

After REM the whole cycle begins again.

That is how it should be…… Go through the above and when you go to bed to-night try to understand what should happen. These studies were done with people who would have been wired up in a sleep experiment so would not have been eating late, drinking alcohol or probably even stressed so whilst this shows what should happen you can see why we are all so different, our lifestyles, work, babies and children, all have an impact on what is termed “normal”.

Just a bit of fun – did you know a Giraffe sleeps around 1.9hr whilst a python sleeps around 18 hours, an African elephant sleeps around 3.3hrs whilst a tiger around 15.8 so there is “norm” for any of us.

Sleep well…