Tulsa –<\/p>\n
As daylight hours grow shorter during the winter months, many people begin to experience symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD); more commonly known as seasonal depression. Doctors estimate that SAD affects about 6% of the U.S.<\/a> population each year.<\/p>\n \n What Is Seasonal Depression?<\/p>\n Dr. Kyle Schauf, a family medicine provider at Utica Park Clinic<\/a> in Catoosa<\/a>, explains that seasonal depression typically appears as the days become darker earlier in the evening. Its symptoms often mirror those of regular depression.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople may notice more feelings of being down or depressed, feelings of sadness, less energy or motivation,\u201d said Dr. Schauf.<\/p>\n \n Simple Ways to Feel Better<\/p>\n For many individuals, symptoms of SAD gradually fade as daylight increases in the spring. Still, Dr. Schauf recommends a few simple strategies to help maintain balance and improve mood during the darker months.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most effective treatments is light box therapy,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can buy one online for about twenty dollars. A 10,000-lumen light box, used for two or three hours in the early morning, can significantly reduce symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctors also encourage spending time outdoors during daylight hours, getting regular exercise, eating well-balanced meals, and seeking medical advice if symptoms worsen. In some cases, short-term medication may also help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tulsa – As daylight hours grow shorter during the winter months, many people begin to experience symptoms of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[163,85,46,522,523],"class_list":{"0":"post-124815","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}