While some welcome the cooler seasons—with a longing for hot chocolate, a hearty stew, or more rest—others dread the loss of daylight.
The Validity of SAD
The indicators of SAD include:- Feelings of sadness, leading to potential (mild) depression
- Lack of energy
- Loss of interest in usual activities
- Changes in sleep patterns—oversleeping or hypersomnia, at times also insomnia
- Weight gain
In 1994, a study investigating light’s effects on 1,571 patients with SAD was published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research. However, the study found that patients’ tendency to oversleep in the fall and winter was only slightly different than that of the general population. What did change was the sleep architecture of SAD patients, which was reversed by bright-light therapy and the change in season.
Neurochemical Culprits
Neurochemicals such as serotonin and dopamine are involved in our sleep-wake cycle. Serotonin, which stems from the brain’s pineal gland, is used to produce the hormone melatonin, which is involved in managing the circadian rhythm.Dopamine, however, stops the effects of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. Instead of making you sleepy, this chemical allows you to perk up.
Treatment of Seasonal Disorders
Conventional treatment for the disorder, outlined in detail in the book “Seasonal Affective Disorders” and in StatPearls in 2024, includes bright light therapy, psychotherapy (including cognitive-behavioral therapy), antidepressant medication, and vitamin D supplementation.Natural Approaches
SAD returns year after year in what seems to be an endless cycle. Patients feel invigorated in spring only to have the energy withdrawn again in fall, when coming back to the dark half of the year.Karen Leadbeater, a licensed homeopath in the southwest of England in Tavistock, Devon, since 1998, addresses the topic on her blog, Navigating Seasonal Change With Homeopathy.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Leadbeater reflected on the importance of light for most living creatures, including humans.
She sees light as a kind of essential nutrient.
Leadbeater looks at SAD through a homeopathic lens of health and disease. Naturally, this makes her think beyond melatonin and tune into each individual’s history of life experiences, events, and sensitivities. She looks at the entire story when treating a patient.
“For some, SAD may be rooted in a lifelong sensitivity to light and the way it impacts their endocrine system,” she said. “Moving into the dark half of the year may stir up early or unconscious associations or act as a painful reminder of past events. It may also be helpful to look back at the time in the person’s life when their depression first manifested and explore whether there were life changes or difficult circumstances occurring at that time.”
- Good nutrition, rich in protein, healthy fats, and omega-3 fatty acids
- Full-spectrum sunlight (as much as possible, which means going outdoors even during the cold winter months and allowing light to directly reach the eyes, unimpeded by windows or eyeglasses)
- Homeopathic remedies
Homeopathic Remedies
Leadbeater draws from decades of experience with her patients when she recommends the following remedies. “Homeopathy uses safe, non-toxic microdoses of natural substances to stimulate the body’s own healing mechanism,” she said. “While some substances may be harmful in crude doses, in homeopathic use they are rendered safe through careful dilution and shaking, which releases their healing potential and removes toxicity.”Leadbeater uses Colchicum especially for people whose symptoms “feel worse when the weather becomes cold and damp” or generally worsen during the change in weather. She also uses it for those who get strongly aggravated during autumn.
This homeopathic medicine comes from the plant Colchicum autumnale, also known as autumn crocus or meadow saffron.
“The plant is remarkable in that its flowers appear in autumn, some time before the leaves, which appear the following spring,” Leadbeater said. “This is the reason for another of its common names—naked ladies.
“As one might expect from the unprotected state of the flower, those whose symptoms correspond to Colchicum are highly sensitive to external influences, from weather to odors, noise, and light.”
This remedy is made from metallic gold, also known as “sun metal.”
Leadbeater uses this homeopathic resource when treating patients strongly touched by sunlight and darkness.
“They crave sunlight and find winter difficult to tolerate,” she said. “They tend to be responsible and hard-working individuals, prone to low mood and self-criticism. The depressive tendency is aggravated by low light—dull cloudy weather, and during the winter months.”
Patients best suited for phosphorus are usually “very sensitive to changes in light and in weather, extroverted and impressionable,” Leadbeater said. “They respond physically and mentally to weather changes, and tend to [experience] low mood in the darker months.”
According to Leadbeater, “these effects can be eased a little in the light of the company of good friends, dancing, and chocolate.” She said that they can also be eased by phosphorus, which is crucial to all life, including “plant cells, where it is essential to the process of photosynthesis—transforming light energy from the sun into chemical energy for metabolic processes.”
Additional Treatments
The following are some nonpharmaceutical treatments that could provide relief.Leadbeater mentioned that other nonpharmacological therapies can also be part of a homeopathic treatment. For instance, full-spectrum sunlight (Sol) and UV light (UV-lux) are potential remedies.
She recommends these treatments if a SAD patient struggles with insomnia or depression.
“Sol is sometimes used in cases where insomnia is part of the SAD picture, and UV-lux has been effective in some cases of winter depression,” Leadbeater said.
The results were conclusive. “Bright light therapy is a promising first-line non-pharmacological treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), showing significant improvement in mood symptoms compared to placebo,” the researchers wrote.
Gentle Herbs
The intricate balance between the nervous system, the circadian cycle, light and dark, and rest and arousal always plays a role when the approach to SAD is holistic.As a community herbalist, I always look to the plant world for potential solutions. For SAD, three special herbal allies come to mind. These three plants are nervines, or calming to the nerves, but they also have antidepressant and anti-anxiety properties.
In this way, the human systems are allowed to balance themselves instead of being overwhelmed in one direction or another.
A total of 56 participants took part in the trial. Each participant received a linden food supplement combined with the three above-mentioned active ingredients. The study confirmed that linden can promote relaxation and “possibly sleep in cases of stress.”
For a cup of linden flower tea, pour eight ounces of boiling water over two teaspoons of the dried plant matter. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. You can take three to four cups daily. Linden flower tea is very mild, and usually without contraindications. However, strong doses might have the opposite effect and cause excitability.
Study group A received 75 milligrams of each, hops and valerian oil, and a low dosage (0.35 mg) of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Study group B received a lower dosage of 20 mg or a placebo and an increased amount (0.85 mg) of THC. Researchers found “a significant difference in sleep disturbance, anxiety, stress, and well-being between Sleep A and placebo.”
Researchers observed that “a botanical blend containing lower amounts of THC and higher amounts of GABA hops oil, and valerian oil significantly improved sleep quality, anxiety, stress, and overall well-being in healthy individuals with a desire for better sleep.” The blend with higher amounts of THC and the placebo were not as effective.
Valerian is an antispasmodic that can be sedative and at times a mild stimulant (especially during dreaming). It can be used as a medicinal tea: Use one-half to one teaspoon dried valerian root to 10 ounces water. Steep covered for 30 minutes. Take four ounces twice daily, once right before bed.
Sometimes called “liquid lemony sunshine,” lemon balm is excellent in herbal protocols for SAD. It effectively treats sleep difficulties stemming from anxiety.
You can use lemon balm as an essential oil in aromatherapy. Or you can drink it as a tea, using the plant’s dried leaves: one to two teaspoons to eight ounces water, steep covered 15 to 30 minutes. Drink up to three cups daily.
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