Northern lights: Think like a Norwegian to beat the winter blues

As the clocks go back an hour this weekend, you may be tempted to pull down the shutters and wait until the spring comes around, but research shows if we take our lead from the Norwegians, we can keep seasonal blues at bay 

Picture: iStock 

WINTER may be tinged with sadness this year because can’t see each other as much as usual, and nurture ourselves with each other’s company. Especially if we are prone to SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder impacts around one in 15 Irish people, its symptoms fairly identical to regular depression, except it starts in autumn and ends in spring. 80% of those affected are women of reproductive age, although it affects boy and girl children equally, and recedes as we get older.

SAD is caused by the sleep hormone melatonin being secreted at the wrong time of day during winter months, causing lethargy and oversleeping, and the neurotransmitter serotonin – which regulates mood and anxiety – being under stimulated through lack of sunlight. Sunlight transmits signals to the suprachiasmatic nucleus and raphe nuclei in the brain, which relate to circadian rhythms and serotonin activation; if there is not enough light, this network is not sufficiently activated. Cue depression. And women are thought to be more susceptible because of the connection between the female sex hormone estradiol and serotonin levels.