Giving Compass' Take:
- Hanne Hoffman, assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University, discusses how COVID-19 can exacerbate seasonal affective disorder symptoms this winter.
- How can healthcare services adjust to meet rising needs, especially in mental health and SAD this coming winter? In what other ways is COVID-19 exacerbating health issues? How can donors support healthcare systems?
- Read about the potential for COVID-19 to cause a mental health epidemic.
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The COVID-19 pandemic could make seasonal affective disorder even tougher to deal with for many people, but there are ways to make yourself feel better, Hanne Hoffman says.
Hoffmann, an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University, and her colleagues in the Hoffmann Lab, study how light regulates our physiology, affects our overall well-being and mood, and induces changes in brain function.
“This is an unusual year with the COVID-19 pandemic causing increased isolation, more time indoors, and increased stress. These are all risk factors for depression and SAD,” she says.
As winter approaches, Hoffmann answers questions about light and seasonal affective disorder as well as how the pandemic affects people with SAD:
What is SAD?
Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that is related to changes in seasons. It usually begins with less hours of sunlight in the fall and eases in spring when days gets longer. Interestingly, a small proportion of people do experience SAD in the summer. Due to the seasonality of SAD, it is commonly known as seasonal depression. Although anyone can get SAD, women experience it four times more frequently than men. At this point, it’s unclear why women are more at risk for SAD than men. Since the disorder is caused by changes in day length, the further away from the equator you live, the higher the risk of experiencing it.
Will it be harder to deal with SAD this winter?
This is an unusual year with the COVID-19 pandemic causing increased isolation, more time indoors, and increased stress. These are all risk factors for depression and SAD, which is supported by recent research evaluating depression in the summer of 2020 and found an increase in depression by more than three times. Due to the continued changes in lifestyle, increased work, family stressors, and reduced social interactions, we can expect to see a significant increase in SAD this winter.
Read the full article about COVID-19 and seasonal affective disorder by Kim Ward at Futurity.