About SAD
Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is officially recognised by Doctors and Psychiatrists as a medical condition that is thought to affect 2 million people in Great Britain.
In the beginning man only worked and lived outdoors in full natural daylight. At the turn of the 19th century 75% of the population worked outdoors. Now less than 10% of the population work in natural outdoor light. This change has resulted in a dramatic increase in light deficiency symptoms.
Symptoms include:
- Depression, feelings of gloom and despondency for no apparent reason
- Lethargy, lacking in energy, unable to carry out a normal routine
- Anxiety, inability to cope
- Social problems, irritability, not wanting to see people
- Sleep problems, finding it hard to stay awake during the day, but having disturbed nights
- Loss of libido, not interested in physical contact.
- Craving for carbohydratesand sweet foods, leading to weight gain
Understanding the impact of light on your health
The human body uses light cues, such as those provided by the sun, to time certain functions.
Properly timed rhythms regulate mood, sleep, wake, appetite, digestion and energy. These daily internal cycles called ‘Circadian Rhythms’ sometimes fall out of time, meaning an unregulated body clock, resulting in the symp toms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Unfortunately, modern living has dramatically altered nature’s cues. A modern day no longer starts at the break of dawn and ends at 8pm. Workdays are getting longer and many people face shift work schedules. Additionally, the advent of electric lighting allows social gatherings and personal activities to extend well into the night. These factors have diminished the body’s natural ability to regulate the body clock.
Circadian Rhythm Imbalance
Now with our hectic lifestyles, we often miss critical signals from the sun, and our body clocks suffer. Without proper morning light, our body clocks don’t produce the hormones we need to wake up and feel active. When we miss daytime light, we slump and become less productive. At night, we usually stay up hours after dark, causing sleep and mood problems. In fact, how we sleep, how active we are, and how we feel are all regulated by our body clock.
When your body clock doesn’t get the right light signals, you can feel tired, moody, and sluggish. But when your body clock does get the right type of light, your body produces active, energetic hormones and suppresses the negative, withdrawal ones. These hormones will help reset your sleep, mood, and energy cycles, so you sleep better at night and feel great during the day.
Seasonal Affective Disorder - Why do we suffer in the UK and Ireland?
In the UK and Ireland we are more susceptible to SAD as we are situated in the northern hemisphere. As a result, we experience large changes in light levels between the summer and winter. We also experience periods of dark, gloomy weather which can reduce the amount of light we receive and therefore have a profound effect on our body clocks.
A combination of a change in seasonal light, our hectic lifestyles and the periods of darker weather, can result in dramatic effects on our circadian rhythms. As a consequence it is estimated that the UK alone has over 2 million people who sufferer from SAD.
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Need a Catalogue? Please download the 2007-2008 SAD Lighting catalogue by clicking the link 2007-2008 SAD Catalogue.
