Finding it hard to wake up in the mornings? Feeling a lack of energy? Feeling generally flat and down? You may be suffering from SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is quite normal to experience when our nights get long and the days short.

Even those further north in New Zealand with decent daytime hours can still suffer from SAD if you’re spending far less time outdoors in the sun due to the weather and the reduced daylight hours combined. Commuters in Auckland can also spend three hours each and every day in traffic/transport at either end of their working hours. 

For most of us experiencing SAD is only mild, we cope with it just fine. But for others the gloom of winter can really affect you in crippling ways, especially if it makes other issues feel even heavier and darker. SAD can be a serious issue for some people, even here in New Zealand which isn’t typically impacted by SAD compared to other nations which have little to no sunlight in their winter months.

Like depression, SAD can affect how you feel and behave for days, weeks or even months.

When you are depressed, your low mood lasts, affecting your sleep, energy levels, relationships, job and appetite. The difference between depression and SAD is that if you experience SAD your symptoms will appear around the end of autumn, and continue through winter and until the days get longer and sunnier in early spring.

You should not ignore SAD, as it can be effectively treated. Click here to read more from the Mental Health Foundation on dealing with and understanding SAD.

For most of us, turning on a extra lights can make a really big difference. It’s called Light Therapy. The few extra cents or dollars it may cost will be some of the cheapest and most effective therapy you can get for this. Put lights on during the day if gloomy or where you work – and switch on even more lights in your home as soon as you get home. It can work when you wake too, if you have to wake before the sun rises turn on lamps – Google “Light Therapy” for more info and to make it effective for you.

Also, making the effort to brave the wintry weather, even if just for a vigorous 20 minute walk in the cold wind. The fresh air and sunlight is well worth it. But – easier said than done sometimes though! 

SAD symptoms fade as our daylight hours increase – in fact each week in September we gain roughly an extra 20 minutes of sunlight, which means well over one hour of daylight is gained in just one month – then daylight savings begins late September and we instantly gain another hour of sunlight (at the end of the day anyway when perhaps more of us are likely to take advantage of it after school, work, commuting etc). 

From late August to late September we gain about 2 hours of extra sunlight at the end of the day.

In Winter it’s normal for people to be tired of wet weather, tired of being indoors, and missing the warmth of the sun on their skin. Some, however, are even happier in the darker months of winter. A few tell us they enjoy the shorter, darker, days and being indoors more often. That it feels cosier and more comforting.

So if you’re feeling a bit down, we hope this article has helped. If you’re into social media join the WeatherWatchNZ Twitter or Facebook pages – you’ll be surprised how many other people out there are online wanting to chat weather or to even just post a cat picture to make you smile.  

One last positive – the days are now definitely getting longer and in just over two weeks most people should start to notice it. There’s always a silver lining 🙂 

For further support please click the links below.

– Written by Head Forecaster Philip Duncan
– Image / Big waves blast Paekakariki, by Chris Johnson 

– WeatherWatch.co.nz

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For more information on depression or SAD please click on the below links…

• www.Depression.org.nz
• www.depression.org.nz/rural
• More about SAD via Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand