As the seasons change, moods sometimes do too.
When temperatures drop and sweater weather is in full swing, some people may begin to notice they feel down and not as engaged with the world around them—in part because fewer sunlight hours and less vitamin D exposure can limit the release of the feel-good hormone serotonin.
The phenomenon is called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which affects an estimated 10 million Americans—more women than men, and a higher percentage of young adults. It is a form of depression that peaks during certain months, typically from late fall to early spring, and includes symptoms like feelings of hopelessness, fatigue, trouble sleeping, and a withdrawal from normal activities.
SAD is more common in regions with significant temperature fluctuations—and some countries may have a greater impact on your winter mood. Healthnews analyzed 194 countries’ “global winter-pattern SAD risk” by assessing five key risk factors: latitude, depressive disorders prevalence, bipolar disorder prevalence, female population size, and 18- to-30-year-old population size. According to the methodology, these factors were weighted together to give each country a score out of 100, with the highest value indicating the most risk for SAD.
While the World Happiness Report celebrates many Nordic countries (Finland ranks No. 1 as the happiest country for the seventh consecutive year, followed in close range by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden), their latitudes also put them at risk for a higher prevalence of SAD cases compared to their southern counterparts. More research is needed to understand this discrepancy and how the countries' well-being protocols and initiatives may, intentionally or not, mitigate the mental health risks of living in a winter depression hotspot.
Here is a list of the world’s winter depression hotspots:
- Greenland: 79.7
- Finland: 69.3
- Sweden: 67.1
- United Kingdom: 64.6
- Norway: 63.1
- Iceland: 62.9
- Canada: 62.0
- Lithuania: 60.7
- Denmark: 60.5
- Ireland: 59.3
- Latvia: 58.9
- Estonia: 58.7
- New Zealand: 58.2
- Netherlands: 57.9
- Belarus: 57.9
"According to Google Trends analysis, six out of the top 10 countries with the highest index score of winter depression also rank in the top 15 Google searches for the term ‘seasonal affective disorder’ over the past five years," according to Healthnews' analysis. "This overlap suggests that our study may effectively reflect real-world concerns, especially in regions where SAD may be the most prevalent."
How to cope with seasonal affective disorder
Depending on the severity, as with managing general depression, talk therapy and medication may be the right protocol. For SAD specifically, though, other experts recommend light therapy, by exposing yourself daily to a light box for 30 to 45 minutes.
