Radio Script
1999

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The SAD Part About Winter
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INTRO: Well, it's that time of the year again. Winter. It's cold. It's dark. For a lot of people, winter can be downright depressing. We don't want to get out of bed, and about the only things we do feel like doing are eating, sleeping, and watching TV. Long-time Alaskans call it cabin fever. Psychologists call it Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. In the first of a two-part series, Arctic Science Journeys producer Doug Schneider gets some advice on how to fight the winter blues.

STORY: DOORACK: "It's not a moral flaw in a person because they're being lazy and can't get out of bed. It's Seasonal Affective Disorder."

That's Julie Doorack, a mental health researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She studies Seasonal Affective Disorder, also called SAD. SAD is a type of mental illness that affects some 10 million Americans, although most probably don't recognize it.

DOORACK: "Affective disorder is a variation in moods that's determined by the season. The most common manifestation is winter depression, meaning in the winter months--and all the research points to a lack of light causing this--in the winter months there's an increase in appetite, weight gain, sleep, social withdrawal, emotional withdrawal and lack of energy, things like that. It's the same thing as cabin fever or winter blues."

Although SAD's exact causes aren't fully understood, experts say the condition is related to the decline in light during winter. Less light reaching the eye's retina triggers an increase in the brain's production of melatonin, a natural depressant. In other words, the shorter days throws one's natural sleep cycle into chaos. For some people the effects are mild. But for others, the effects can be dramatic.

EGBERT: "I know what I've had to go through. Last year was terrible."

She's now a volunteer with the Fairbanks, Alaska, chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. She moved to Alaska only last year. Before that, Egbert lived in California. That's when she says the winter blues first threw her biological clock out of whack.

EGBERT: "It was really difficult to get up and function. It would take me until 5 o'clock to get up and take a shower. And then at 6 o'clock I was ready to make something to eat. And then at 7 o'clock I was watching TV and at 8 I was ready to go out to town. So I was functioning at night but not during the day. But then eventually it got to the point that I wasn't functioning at all. I never did come back up from it. I ended up in the hospital."

But it doesn't have to be that way. There are some easy remedies. UAF's Julie Doorack says one of the best is to get as much light--natural or artificial--as possible.

DOORACK: "The most important thing is to try and get out in the sun for one hour a day. The key to preventing it is to get sunlight to hit your retina. A lot of people love here to cross country ski. That's great. Of course it could be the combination of exercise and light hitting your retina. But in any case it works."

More light tricks the body into producing seratonin, a hormone associated with waking the brain. Exposure to light, along with exercise, has helped Egbert, at least so far.

EGBERT: "This is my second winter here in Alaska, and I'm trying to beat it. I've got a therapist who's helping me. I'm hoping for the best."

But if these steps don't work, consult your doctor or mental health counselor. You might also want to complete a short questionnaire to see if you're experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder. That questionnaire can be found below.

OUTRO: This is Arctic Science Journeys, a production of the Alaska Sea Grant Program and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I'm Doug Schneider.

Broadcaster outtake: Coming up next time, Arctic Science Journeys will focus on research done on Alaskan's with schizophrenia, a group of people particularly susceptible to the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Our thanks to the following individuals for their help in the preparation of this script:

Pattie Egbert
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
P.O. Box 72543
Fairbanks, Alaska 99707
907-456-4704
fami@misquitonet.com

Julie Doorack
108 Maple Street
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709
907-455-7889
ftjed@uaf.edu

If you'd like more information about SAD, check out these websites:

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, http://www.nami.org/

Seasonal Affective Disorder, http://athealth.com/Practitioner/Newsletter/FPN_3_2.html

Circadian Rhythm and Biological Clock, http://www.circadian.com/learning_center/biological_clock.htm

Augusta Georgia Chronicle story on SAD, http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/121796/blues.html

Order "Winter Blues" on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D1572303956/athealthincA/102-8481512-0428826