When autumn comes, many of us experience a change in our daily habits - we might stay in a bit more, exercise a bit less and generally go into a mini-hibernation while we await the return of sunny days. It’s perfectly normal to slow down in the winter. But for others, the change in seasons can throw them into a full-blown depression. And scientists really don’t know why. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD for short, and it generally hits people living at higher latitudes, like us here in Eindhoven.

What is SAD?

SAD is a sub-type of major depression that’s commonly called winter depression or the winter blues. Though the condition was first scientifically defined in 1984, historical references - particularly in Scandinavia - go back hundreds of years. The most commonly affected population is young people - the usual onset is between ages 18 and 30 - and it hits three times as many women as men. Like other forms of depression, sufferers might experience the following symptoms:

•             a persistent low mood
•             a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities
•             irritability
•             feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness
•             feeling lethargic (lacking in energy) and sleepy during the day
•             sleeping for longer than normal and finding it harder to get up in the morning
•             craving carbohydrates and gaining weight

Aakash has experienced many of these symptoms since arriving in Eindhoven: “I sleep a lot more here and it’s harder to concentrate when I’m working in the lab. Plus, the weather makes me hungrier.” Aakash’s friend, Nidish Rao , also Indian and working on his master’s in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, chimes in: “Winter gets a bit boring here. I tend to eat a lot of junk food - hagelslag, croissants, chocolate chip cookies, roomboter cake, potato chips. These aren’t things I would eat at home.”

And though you might be tempted to think it’s a condition that only affects foreigners from sunny climates, like Aakash and Nidish, many Dutch people also have difficulty with winter depression. Professor Yvonne de Kort from the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences is an expert in light and how we as humans respond to it. For the past three years, she’s conducted a survey with her primarily-Dutch bachelor’s students and has found that a whopping 35% suffer mild-to-severe symptoms of SAD. “The first time we did this survey was a real shocker. The number is quite high for Dutch standards. We think that young people are healthy and wouldn’t be bothered by such things, but they are.”

Prevention and Treatment

Though the causes for SAD aren’t entirely understood, the most extensively studied treatment for the condition is light therapy. Sitting in front of intense light for 15 to 20 minutes daily helps about 75% of sufferers. The theory behind the treatment is that when the sun rises later each day, people’s circadian clocks tend to also slip later since these rhythms are regulated by light hitting the eye’s retina. But because most of us have to wake up at the same time year-round, our bodies fall out of sync, which can lead to sleep and mood disturbances. Light therapy helps to harmonize these patterns. (Want to try it for yourself? Head over to the TU/e sports center for a dose of light therapy.)

Judith Beenhakker is a psychologist with the Education and Student Service Center (STU) and advises students to be mindful of their daily habits: “It is important that students who are sensitive to seasonal changes take care of themselves by living a regular life. It doesn’t mean that they can never go to a party or have to go to bed at 22:30 sharp, but don’t do this every night. You can drink alcohol, but again, don’t overdo it.” Other ways to prevent SAD - or treat it once you’ve got it - include: early morning walks and/or spending as much time outside as possible, boosting your intake of vitamin D, exercise, healthy eating and making sure you stay connected to others. Beenhakker: “Try to avoid isolation because being alone is also a trigger that worsens any depression. Stay in contact with your friends, go to social activities even if you are not feeling up to it - most of the time, once you get there, you’ll have a good time!”

And if all else fails and you’re still feeling blue (and constantly reaching for those oh-so-addictive stroopwafels) you can always follow Aakash Vishnu’s plan for beating winter depression: “I’m going to California next month. I planned my internship so I could have it in a sunny place and entirely skip the winter here.”

Beating SAD at TU/e

Prof. De Kort and her colleague in the Human-Technology Interaction group, Femke Beute, want to impact the levels of SAD on campus by contributing to the Main Building’s renovation. As De Kort explains, their aim is to make it a SAD-free zone: “We know that light is used to treat SAD but that’s a cure. We hope to prevent it. We’re thinking of testing scenarios where we lengthen the day or we give people a boost of light somehow. If anything, work is the place where you can prevent SAD because you’re there five days a week.” There’s also emerging evidence that different color temperatures can help prevent the condition, says De Kort, “Blue light is especially effective for suppressing melatonin and people think it’ll be more effective in preventing SAD. It also seems that prevention isn’t just about giving the right amount of light but it’s also related to the pleasantness of that light. Warmer colors are generally more preferred.”

It’s a theory that’s at least anecdotally confirmed by Aakash and Nidish. Both students live in the space boxes on campus and said they intensely disliked the quality of light in their rooms. They’ve both since swapped out the bulbs for lighting that feels more comfortable to them. Aakash explains: “The lighting in my room was very dull. In India, we use only white light so the lighting here made my eyes very tired. I went to Hema and Praxis and asked for very white light and they said that nobody uses that here. So when I went home to India, I bought the highest color temperature of blue-ish white light available on the market. It’s made a big difference for me.”

Though SAD isn’t perfectly understood, don’t take a dip in mood for granted as something that’s natural for this time of year. Get outside, move more, watch your diet and if the darkening days are truly getting you down - and an escape to the tropics isn’t an option - you can find help right here on campus by making an appointment with a student psychologist at the STU-reception desk or by calling them at 040 - 2472221.