How To Feel Good When You Suffer With SAD
- Susan Davis Nutritionist
- Jan 9
- 3 min read
If you are anything like me you may get a little bit depressed come the winter months. There could be many underlying factors for feelings of low mood, not wanting to go out and socialise or generally feeling pretty crap to be honest. This blog is not to identify the reasons to why one gets depressed although I will touch on a few relating to feeling gloomy and the winter.
Firstly one thing that we all need to acknowledge is that if you do suffer from Seasonal affective Disorder or commonly known as SAD you can make yourself feel better. Yes this is true for many of us. Whether this may be looking at your nutrition via the foods you eat, your gut health, your neurotransmitters via testing, your vitamin D levels, your omega 3 fatty acid intake and B vitamin status. Lifestyle factors play an important role here, how much sleep you get and the amount of exercise you do and how much natural light exposure you get all play an important role.
SAD or seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern according to the NHS.
Symptoms of SAD are:
Over sleeping, feeling miserable and anti-social
Over eating especially carbohydrates or craving foods that are rich in carbohydrates
Loss of energy, feeling tired all the time
Lack of motivation, poor concentration
Disturbed sleep patterns
2 million people in the UK and 12 million people across Northern Europe are affected by SAD.
Women are more prone to SAD. There is also a familial tendecy so if someone from your family suffers with SAD it is more likely to affect someone else in the family. The decrease of light levels during the winter months seem to be the key player in SAD. Some people get SAD when the day lights are short and the sun stops shining. Well it never quite shines as bright as the mediterranean in England but we still get some sun when it decides to come out which is mostly in the summer months!
We can still benefit from daylight exposure even when the sun is not shining.
Follow a nutrient dense diet. Eat foods that agree with you and that don't cause any reactions whether it be mood or physical.
Eat the rainbow! Yes you read it right. Incorporate 7-8 portions of fruit and vegetables into your diet everyday!
Eat fatty fish or if you are a vegetarian or vegan ensure you have vegetarian sources of omega 3 fats these can be soya beans, leafy greens, walnuts, hemps seeds, chia seeds and flax seeds.
Eat good fats such as extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and grass fed butter.
Eat Grass fed meat, poultry and game for protein. If you are vegetarian eat tofu, beans, lentils and nuts and seeds for protein. Protein is important for tryptophan. Main sources of dietary tryptophan are Turkey, chicken and other meats and fish vegetarian sources are pumpkin seeds, soya, spirulina, sunflower seeds, almonds and walnuts, bananas. Eat tryptophan rich foods with a source of carbohydrate to aid its absorption.
Drink water and herbal teas to stay hydrated.
Get outside. Especially when the sun is out! Expose your skin and vision to the sun.
Get moving. Exercise is excellent to elevate a crappy mood.
Purchase a full spectrum light and, position it so the light hits your eye at an angle about 3 feet away. Follow the manufacturing instructions.
Ensure you go to bed at a reasonable time and get up in the morning. Exposing yourself to early morning light is important for the circadian clock. Exposing yourself to the morning sunlight also has an impact on your melatonin (sleep hormone) and serotonin (your happy hormone) levels.
Reduce stress as much as possible as it has an impact on your serotonin melatonin pathway. Meditate, take time out and mindfulness practices are all helpful.
Look after your gut as the it is the major site of typtophan metabolism. Tryptohan converts to serotonin your happy hormone. This then converts to melatonin your sleep hormone. If your not sure how to check your neurotransmitter function get in touch with me for an organic acid test or a neurotransmitter test.
Get your vitamin D levels checked and if you are low or deficient supplement with Vitamin D3.
What will you do to help make you feel bettter if you are suffering with SAD? Will you take action to eat the right foods that support your overal and gut health? Will you aim to exercise outdoors everytday exposing your skin and eyes to natural daylight?
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