Elsevier

Psychiatry Research

Volume 36, Issue 1, January 1991, Pages 51-63
Psychiatry Research

Effect of daily variation in weather and sleep on seasonal affective disorder

https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(91)90117-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Analysis of daily self-ratings of energy for 10 patients diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) revealed statistically significant seasonal patterns in eight patients (with all patients showing the most energy in the summer and the least energy in the winter). When weather was controlled for, the seasonal patterns in energy persisted in seven of the eight patients. In a lesser number of subjects (four), there were significant effects of weather after controlling for season; however, when the effects of weather on energy were examined separately for each season, 8 of the 10 subjects were found to be influenced by weather in at least one season. Daily sleep data showed statistically significant seasonal patterns in all 10 patients (with 6 subjects showing maximum sleep in winter and 4 in summer). As for the relationship between energy and sleep, a loss of energy appeared to predict longer sleep on that night and the next night (7 of 10 patients), whereas there was no evidence that prolonged sleep influenced energy on the following and subsequent days.

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    This hypothesis relies on the fact that numerous medical studies reveal that SAD affects the mood and health of a substantial portion of the population in the U.S., where the CDH is the main factor affecting SAD. In addition, there is also a SAD latitude effect above and beyond the effect of the CDH (see, e.g., Albert et al., 1991; Mersch et al., 1999). Indeed, controlling for the MT, BPH, and several important macroeconomic variables, we find that seasonality is highly significantly correlated with the SAD Onset/Recovery (OR) variable, empirically developed by Kamstra et al. (2009), and which reflects the change in the proportion of SAD-affected individuals actively suffering from SAD (as is further explained in the next section).

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1

Paul S. Albert, Ph.D., is Staff Fellow, Biometry and Field Studies Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD.

2

Leora N. Rosen, Ph.D., is at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD.

3

Joseph R. Alexander, Jr., B.A., is in the Clinical Psychobiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD.

4

Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D., is Chief, Unit on Outpatient Studies, Clinical Psychobiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD.

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