As the days grow shorter and the cold settles in, many people experience more than simple autumn nostalgia. Energy drops, sleep becomes excessive yet unrefreshing, cravings for sweets and carbohydrates increase, and motivation seems to have gone into hibernation alongside nature. If this pattern repeats year after year and significantly affects you, you may be dealing with seasonal depression β a real condition with well-understood biological mechanisms and effective solutions.
What Is Seasonal Depression?
Seasonal affective disorder is a subtype of depression that follows a pattern linked to seasons. Most commonly, symptoms appear in late autumn and persist throughout winter, remitting in spring. Less frequently, there is also a summer variant.
Symptoms specific to the winter form
Unlike classic depression, the winter seasonal form has several distinctive features:
- Hypersomnia (excessive sleeping, yet feeling unrested) β instead of insomnia
- Increased carbohydrate cravings and weight gain β instead of appetite loss
- A sensation of “heaviness” in arms and legs β profound physical fatigue
- Intense social withdrawal β often described as “hibernation”
- Irritability and difficulty concentrating
Who is more vulnerable?
Risk factors include: living at northern latitudes, family history of depression, female sex (women are 4 times more susceptible), young age, and having a prior depressive episode. In Romania, with our long winters and short December-January days, prevalence is significant.
Effective Strategies for Seasonal Depression
1. Light therapy
Exercise: How to Use Light Therapy Correctly
Light therapy is the first-line treatment for seasonal depression, with a response rate of 50-80%.
- Choose a light therapy lamp of 10,000 lux (check specifications β regular lamps are not sufficient)
- Positioning: The lamp should be 40-60 cm from your face, slightly above eye level, at an angle (do not look directly into the light)
- Duration: 20-30 minutes every morning, preferably within the first hour after waking
- Consistency: Daily, from October/November through March/April
- Observe the effects: Most people report improvements within 3-7 days of consistent use
Note: Consult an ophthalmologist if you have eye conditions. Evening light therapy may disrupt sleep.
2. Maximizing natural light exposure
3. Adjusting the circadian rhythm
The internal biological clock easily desynchronizes in winter, contributing to fatigue and sleep disturbances.
- Consistent wake time: Set your alarm for the same time every day, including weekends. This is the most important rule for regulating the circadian rhythm.
- Morning light: Immediately after waking, expose yourself to bright light (light therapy lamp or going outside). This stops melatonin production and signals to the brain that the day has begun.
- Evening darkness: 1-2 hours before bedtime, reduce artificial light and avoid screens. Use blue light filters if you must use devices.
- Sleep routine: Go to bed at the same time. Create a relaxing evening ritual (warm tea, reading, gentle stretching).
4. Movement β the natural antidepressant
Exercise: The Winter Movement Plan
It does not need to be an intense workout. Choose what works for you:
- Daily 30-minute walk outdoors (ideally between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM for maximum light)
- Morning yoga or stretching β 15 minutes is enough to activate the body
- Dancing in the living room β play your favorite music and move for 10-15 minutes
- Stairs instead of elevator β every opportunity for movement counts
The key: regularity beats intensity. Better 15 minutes daily than one hour once a week.
5. Strategic nutrition
The craving for refined carbohydrates in seasonal depression is the brain’s mechanism for trying to increase serotonin levels. But refined sugar provides a temporary boost followed by a crash.
6. Active social connection
Exercise: The Winter Social Plan
The tendency toward isolation in seasonal depression must be actively counterbalanced:
- Schedule at least one social interaction per week β do not leave it to chance
- Choose pleasant indoor activities with others: cooking together, board games, watching a movie
- Maintain phone contact with 1-2 close people β a 10-minute call matters
- Sign up for a group activity (dance class, ceramics workshop, book club) β structure helps
Do not wait until you want company β schedule it as a treatment.
The Dawn Simulation Approach
When to Seek Professional Help
- Symptoms significantly interfere with work, relationships, or daily functioning
- You have thoughts of self-harm or the feeling that life is not worth living
- Self-help strategies bring no improvement after 2-3 weeks of consistent application
- Alcohol consumption has increased as a coping mechanism
- Seasonal depression overlaps with a preexisting depressive episode
- Symptoms appear earlier each year or last longer
A specialist can assess severity and recommend the appropriate treatment β from guided light therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy adapted for SAD, to antidepressant medication in moderate-to-severe cases.
Conclusion
Seasonal depression is one of the few forms of depression with a clearly identifiable causal factor β lack of natural light β and therefore with very well-targeted interventions. You do not have to passively accept winter months as a period of inevitable suffering. With early preparation (starting in October), light therapy, movement, and social connection, you can transform winter from an enemy into a season you live fully.
Winter does not have to be a period of survival. With the right tools, you can pass through it with energy, connection, and even joy.
This article provides educational information and does not replace consultation with a mental health professional. If you are experiencing persistent difficulties, I encourage you to schedule a consultation.