Sleep linked to seasonal depression

The hour has changed, the cold has set in and Taylor Swift has re-released her ‘RED' album. In other words, the fall season is in its final act.

For most people, these late days of fall into the earliest days of winter are the time when Seasonal Affective Disorder begins to set in.

People suffering from the disorder - and it accounts for about 10 per cent of national depression cases, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association - report the symptoms typically stick around until the sunniest days of spring and summer come back around.

For Dr. Sheila Garland, this usually means a frenzy of media asking for her time. She says she is ‘the' person when it comes to those inevitable, annual sleep-related questions - and for good reason.

Garland is a clinical psychologist and associate professor in the department of psychology at Memorial

University. She directs the sleep, health and wellness lab, which conducts clinical research looking at the influence of sleep and sleep disorders on physical and emotional well-being.

“One of the populations that I focus on is people who've had a previous cancer diagnosis because they report sleep disruption two to three times greater than the general population,” explains Garland.

If you are one of the 15 per cent of Canadians who experience some form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), you may be wondering what this has to do with you. The answer? A lot more than you'd think.

“In most people, in healthy people, there will be a period of very strong activity and alertness during the day, which is followed by a period of a strong kind of stillness where you would be sleeping,” Garland explained.

“In people who are recovering from cancer, or going through cancer treatment, their circadian rhythms can become blunted or dampened, so you don't see that distinguishing difference between day and night.”

That circadian disruption can influence overall physical and mental wellness, mental healing, she adds.

HOW LIGHT CAN HELP

Circadian rhythm is essentially your sleep and wake behaviour - the same system that people struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder will want help regulating.

She also says one of the most powerful hormones driving this cycle is melatonin, which is only produced in response to a specific wavelength of light.

“There are special receptors in our eyes called melanopsin receptors and they're sensitive to this very specific wavelength of light,” she explains.

“So, it's only when our eyes are exposed to this light that it tells our brain it's time to shut off the production of melatonin. You want melatonin at night, but you don't want it during the day.”

This can be done through the use of bright light, a therapeutic tool you may be familiar with already.

“A long time ago, in order to get that bright light that you need, you almost needed a solar panel. They were massive. But now with technology, they're using small LED lights; it's almost the size of an iphone,” she adds.

While the technology has come a long way and Dr. Garland considers the device to be highly effective - both on cancer patients, as well as those struggling with SAD she also says to be wary about its newfound accessibility.

“You can mess things up if you use them at an inappropriate time. It is a medical device, so you need to be using them properly.

“If you are interested in one of these, sometimes with a prescription insurance will even cover it, but you should be using the devices in consultation with a qualified provider."

OTHER WAYS TO HELP

There are other things you can do to take care of yourself through the time change, Garland says, including have physical activity.

“That can give us a boost in terms of our energy and also our mood,” Garland said.

You may want to get your physical activity before it gets dark. She also stresses while you are doing this, you must make yourself visible to drivers - especially in areas where sidewalks are often home to mounds of snow.

And for the Atlantic Canadian who traditionally travel to escape the winter but are opting not to this year due to COVID-19, she has one last piece of advice for staying sane through the winter months.

“I think one of the reasons why people choose to live part of the year in a warmer place during the winter has to do with temperature, but also social activities,” she said.

That's why she urges people to resist against huddling up inside and waiting for spring to come.

“Make sure you have opportunities for social interaction in the evening, not just binging Netflix and eating storm chips,” Garland said with a laugh.