Just in time for the start of summer—season of long sunny days, hot nights, and Taylor Swift-level short, short shorts—NYMag.com's blog Science of Us reminds us that this actually isn't a happy time for everyone. A small number of people are affected by a type of depression that is more commonly seen in winter. SAD, seasonal affective disorder, has a summer version that causes appetite loss and insomnia (opposite side effects of the winter illness, where you sleep and eat more).
Summer SAD is rare—it's just 10 percent of all SAD cases, a disorder estimated to affect just 4 to 6 percent of the population. And there's no miracle treatment for it, in part because it's under-researched compared to the more common winter version. Scientists currently recommend the opposite of winter SAD's light box therapy treatment: Instead of being exposed to a light that simulates daylight (because with summer SAD, your brain struggles with too much light exposure), people should stay inside, keep rooms dark, and put the AC on full blast.
But relief is temporary, Norman Rosenthal, a professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine, tells Science of Us. "The trouble with cold therapy, which might be seen as the equivalent of light therapy, is that it doesn't seem to last. If you're in the cool air conditioning, it helps you while you're in it, but then when you go outside—my patients have described it as being hit by a wall of heat."
And the disorder has social consequences, too. People with summer SAD, particularly those using that treatment strategy, "feel like they're not part of this great pageant that's going on outdoors, in the swimming pools and going for hikes."
So basically, Lana Del Rey was pretty spot-on with her "Summertime Sadness" hit and we didn't even realize it.
