Care for the pregnant woman and her babyTaming the winter blues
By Sandy Conrad, MSW
Over the past several months I have found that I no longer need to set my alarm clock. 
Most mornings around 5 a.m. the gentle scraping of metal from the plow trucks begin right outside by bedroom window. On particularly special mornings, my new alarm clock rings around 4 a.m. when the back loaders and dump trucks are diligently moving gargantuan piles of snow to, yes, right next door to my house.
And, let us not forget the lovely clanging of the tailgates when the dump trucks release their delicate flakes of snow and the melodious backing up sound of “beep, beep, beep.”
Are you beginning to notice some irritability and grumpiness?
I am. Even with my new alarm clocks, I still have to force myself to get out of bed. Then there are my co-workers who comment almost daily on my mood and behavior changes. And let’s not even talk about my feelings of exhaustion. (Who wouldn’t be? It seems you put in half a day’s work before you even get to your job. There’s sweeping the porch, shoveling the sidewalk, cleaning off the car, etc.)
And please, oh please, where is the sun? Okay, it’s official; I’ve got the “winter blues.”
The winter blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a melancholy feeling generated from the shorter, darker, gray days winter brings about. Symptoms can include depression, lack of energy, increased need for sleep, a craving for sweets and weight gain. Symptoms usually begin in the fall, peak in the winter and usually resolve in the spring. It is also important to note that 70-80 percent of people with SAD are women.
What can one do about it? Here are a few suggestions to help you through.
The number one relief the experts tell us is to expose yourself to as much light as possible. For example, the other day I saw one of our nurses at Gifford taking a few minutes to stand at a window where the sun was shining through. Her eyes closed, face to the sunshine, gathering in the warmth and vitamin D our bodies so desperately need in the winter.
Another suggestion is to get outside as much as possible. Take a walk, go skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, build a snowman, have a snowball fight. The more exercise, the more light, and the more your mood and stress levels will improve.
Eating better helps too. Usually in winter we are more prone to eat high sugar foods in order to try and keep our energy levels up, but it’s the worst thing we can do. All we really end up doing is overeating and gaining weight.
Also, try and eat foods that are high in vitamin D such as salmon, tuna and other foods fortified with vitamin D. This, along with the sunlight, increases our serotonin levels, which helps to better regulate our mood and energy.
Finally, the most important thing to remember is that spring is just around the corner. Pat yourself on the back, “high-five” a co-worker, be proud that you have not only experienced one of the most difficult winters we’ve seen in Vermont in a long time, but you’re surviving it!
And by the way, no hard feelings to my new alarm clocks. Without you, I would never see the light of day.
Sandy Conrad is a social worker and director of Care Management at Gifford Medical Center in Randolph.
Past health columns
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Read about ACL tears in women and girls >>
Read about childhood immunizations >>