Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder, more commonly known as "Winter Blues" is seen around the world but notably more prevalent in countries that share latitudes close to the Arctic Circle. In Finland, 9.5% of the population suffers from Seasonal Depression, coinciding with other elevated rates of the disorder in Northern Alaska, Sweden, and other Scandinavian nations with the exception of Iceland. Looking into this a bit more I found out that there us evidence of this resistency being a specific genetic trait held by the Icelandic people and not mainland Scandinavians. Hence, the genetic heritability of SAD has caused researchers to study its effects in parts of the world where during the winter months there are very few hours of daylight.

This natural phenomenon makes me question if the prevalence of Seasonal Affective Disorder in Finland and other Scandinavian nations has affected the culture. Going back to the topic of music I wrote about earlier, some claim that the depressive atmosphere of the winter months is what fuels the angsty rock music that has become so popular.

Treatments for the disorder have been/are being developed and are commonly employed in the nations whose people are the most affected. One such development is Light Therapy, where patients are subjected to UV light in order to recieve the Vitamin D essential for healthy brain function.

I even stumbled across a company from Northern Canada specializing in saunas that come equipt with specialized lights in them. The website provides a writeup on the effects of SAD and how it can drastically effect the lives of those who suffer from it.

(http://www.greatsaunas.com/info/sad-seasonal-affective-disorder-and-infrared-saunas.cfm)