Interviewer: Today, in the studio is Doctor Meg Glenn, a specialist in SAD treatment. Hello, Doctor. I’m glad to have you here with us.

Doctor: Good morning, thank you for inviting me to the studio.

Interviewer: The pleasure is mine, Doctor. We’ve invited you to talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD in short. Autumn has come, many people struggle to get up in the morning when the day is short, and some start to notice changes in mood and a decrease in energy.

Doctor: Seasonal Affective Disorder is a variation in mood related to the season, so there are two kinds of SAD: fall winter onset and spring summer onset. Early winter is the time when the first symptoms start to occur.

Interviewer: Let’s enumerate these symptoms, please.

Doctor: The most recognisable are: change in mood, lack of energy and sleep disorders. It can work both ways; when you get too much of it or too little. The alarming symptom is when we give up on activities that usually bring us joy, start to avoid social interaction, or switch to eating more carbs. Sometimes, people have aches from unknown sources. It seems like a bear’s style of life: too much or too little sleep, too much food and sometimes too much weight.

Interviewer: How many people might suffer from SAD?

Doctor: It is estimated that up to 10 percent of the population.

Interviewer: That’s a big figure. Do we know the reason for this disorder?

Doctor: That's not clear for sure. It’s been observed that SAD rates are higher in the northern parts of the globe rather than in the southern ones. This led to the theory that the factor responsible for it may be the reduction of sunlight in these parts. Shorter days make our internal clock get out of the balance.

Interviewer: How can one know that they suffer from SAD, Doctor?

Doctor: Firstly, we cannot diagnose ourselves. Only a specialist is able to do it. One episode of seasonal depression is not sufficient to establish the presence of SAD. It is about timing and the repetitive onset. The symptoms must appear for at least a two‑year period at the similar time of the year to confirm a pattern of seasonal disorder. But we must remember that each case must be investigated individually.

Interviewer: What solutions does medicine offer to help people affected with SAD?

Doctor: Medications, vitamin D supplementation, healthy diet, regular exercises, sleep hygiene and sleep schedule, even meditation. They’re all worth implementing.

Interviewer: But it is so hard to exercise when you have no energy!

Doctor: There is another option to begin with, which has gained many fans in the USA. This is light therapy.

Interviewer: Do you mean daylight?

Doctor: Oh no, daylight is hard to find in winter. There are lightboxes, which are natural light simulators. It is proven that they bring positive effects in a relatively short time.

Interviewer: Can you tell us more about this lamp, because I’m pretty sure you caught our listeners’ attention with this news.

Doctor: The light lamp should be used preferably early in the morning for 30‑60 minutes and be 20 times brighter than ordinary indoor lighting. People claim that they saw an improvement in their functioning within two weeks.

Interviewer: That’s good news! Can anybody use it?

Doctor: I strongly discourage you from using it without your doctor’s approval. The doctor must decide on the time, dose, or duration of therapy. Besides, you must be careful when you take other medications, especially antibiotics because then using the lamp is not advised.

Interviewer: I hope that every listener heard that. Consult your doctors, everybody! That was a fascinating meeting, Doctor. Thank you so much for sharing valuable information.

Doctor: It was a pleasure for me, thank you.

Interviewer: Thank you, goodbye.