As autumn renders the daylight hours shorter and winter creeps closer, a significant percentage of Americans will experience changes in mood, according to the latest APA Healthy Minds poll.
Two-fifths of Americans (41%) said their mood declines during the winter months. This is especially true in the Midwest and Northeast, where 52% and 46% of respondents, respectively, said they experience a decline in mood.
The poll was conducted on behalf of APA by Morning Consult from October 18-20, 2024, among a sample of 2,201 adults.
While the “winter blues” are usually mild, a small percentage of people may experience a form of depression, known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The symptoms—including sadness, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, and changes in appetite and sleep—usually occur during the fall and winter months when there is less sunlight and then improve with the arrival of spring. While it is much less common, some people may experience SAD in the summer.
SAD can be effectively treated in several ways, including light therapy, antidepressant medications, and/or psychotherapy.
“The winter months have less light, the time change can feel abrupt, and the holidays for some are overwhelming,” said APA President Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D., Dr.Med.Sc. “It’s helpful to keep tabs on your mood…. If you’re feeling very poorly, consider talking to a mental health clinician, and also know that spring is only a few months away.”
When asked about what behaviors and feelings they noticed during winter, Americans reported sleeping more (41%), feeling fatigued (28%), feeling depressed (27%), and losing interest in things they like (20%). When asked which activities helped them cope with winter weather, Americans were most likely to select talking with friends and family (46%), sleeping more (35%), and going outside (35%).
Some other findings from the poll:
- More women (45%) than men (37%) said their mood declined in winter.
- The time change also had a greater impact on women—33% of women said it was bad for their mental health versus 26% of men.
- Urbanites were less likely to report a winter decline in mood (36%) compared with people in rural areas (46%).
- The time change was also more likely to affect the mental health of people in rural areas (31%) than their counterparts in cities (24%).
For related information, see the Psychiatric News article “This Winter Pandemic May Intensify Seasonal Depression.”
(Image: Getty Images/iStock/borchee)
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