Depression - What Are The Causes Of Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Seasonal affective disorder or SAD for short is a form of depression that is triggered by the season of the year.
There are basically two types of SAD, namely winter-onset depression and summer-onset depression.
Winter -onset depression is the most common type of SAD with Symptoms usually beginning in late fall or early winter and go away by summer.
Summer-onset depression on the other hand usually begins in the late spring or early summer and goes away by winter.
Common symptoms of winter-onset SAD include the following; • a change in appetite, • craving for carbohydrates and sweets, • fatigue, • weight gain, • sleep disturbances including over sleeping, • anxiety, • Difficulty concentrating.
Symptoms of summer-onset SAD on the other hand include; • loss of appetite, • insomnia, • increased sex drive, • irritability and anxiety, • Agitation and weight loss.
Whatever the type of seasonal affective disorder you might be experiencing, a fundamental question you might always be asking is; what is the cause of seasonal affective disorder? Even though there is not enough conclusive data on the various causes of SAD, some of the causes of SAD are described below; Gender and SAD: Females are generally about four times more likely than males to develop SAD.
Age: Although Seasonal affective disorder can affect kids and young teens, it's most common in older teens and young adults, usually starting in the early twenties.
Heredity: If you have a family history of SAD for instance, there is a greater chance that you might also develop this condition.
Environment: The prevalence of SAD varies from region to region, and it's far more abundant among people who live in higher latitudes.
For example, Winter-onset SAD has been found to be more common in northern regions, where longer winter periods is usually experienced.
Biological conditions: The onset of SAD is believed to be highly triggered by the brains response to decreased daylight or sunlight exposure.
Two hormones or neurotransmitters are implicated here; Melatonin: Melatonin is linked to sleep and is produced in greater quantities when its dark or the days are shorter.
Thus, increased production of melatonin can cause sleepiness, fatigue or lethargy.
Serotonin: This neurotransmitter is highly associated with our mood including the feeling of depression.
The production of serotonin increases with exposure to daylight or sunlight.
Therefore, during winter when there is reduced daylight or sunlight, serotonin levels become lower and melatonin production is at peak.
This might thus create the biological platform for depression during winter.
By the way, do you want to learn more about depression and how you can effectively treat any type of depression? If so, I suggest you check this out: Depression Help.
There are basically two types of SAD, namely winter-onset depression and summer-onset depression.
Winter -onset depression is the most common type of SAD with Symptoms usually beginning in late fall or early winter and go away by summer.
Summer-onset depression on the other hand usually begins in the late spring or early summer and goes away by winter.
Common symptoms of winter-onset SAD include the following; • a change in appetite, • craving for carbohydrates and sweets, • fatigue, • weight gain, • sleep disturbances including over sleeping, • anxiety, • Difficulty concentrating.
Symptoms of summer-onset SAD on the other hand include; • loss of appetite, • insomnia, • increased sex drive, • irritability and anxiety, • Agitation and weight loss.
Whatever the type of seasonal affective disorder you might be experiencing, a fundamental question you might always be asking is; what is the cause of seasonal affective disorder? Even though there is not enough conclusive data on the various causes of SAD, some of the causes of SAD are described below; Gender and SAD: Females are generally about four times more likely than males to develop SAD.
Age: Although Seasonal affective disorder can affect kids and young teens, it's most common in older teens and young adults, usually starting in the early twenties.
Heredity: If you have a family history of SAD for instance, there is a greater chance that you might also develop this condition.
Environment: The prevalence of SAD varies from region to region, and it's far more abundant among people who live in higher latitudes.
For example, Winter-onset SAD has been found to be more common in northern regions, where longer winter periods is usually experienced.
Biological conditions: The onset of SAD is believed to be highly triggered by the brains response to decreased daylight or sunlight exposure.
Two hormones or neurotransmitters are implicated here; Melatonin: Melatonin is linked to sleep and is produced in greater quantities when its dark or the days are shorter.
Thus, increased production of melatonin can cause sleepiness, fatigue or lethargy.
Serotonin: This neurotransmitter is highly associated with our mood including the feeling of depression.
The production of serotonin increases with exposure to daylight or sunlight.
Therefore, during winter when there is reduced daylight or sunlight, serotonin levels become lower and melatonin production is at peak.
This might thus create the biological platform for depression during winter.
By the way, do you want to learn more about depression and how you can effectively treat any type of depression? If so, I suggest you check this out: Depression Help.
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