#每日英文閱讀
Here’s why you get gloomy in the winter — and what you can do about it
With the arrival of winter, many of us experience Seasonal Affective Disorder — which bears the appropriate acronym of SAD — and can bring on a depressed mood, loss of interest in things that you normally enjoy, and changes in sleep and appetite. While there aren’t conclusive figures, it is thought to affect between one and nine percent of the population.
隨著冬天的到來，很多人都會經歷「季節性情緒失調」（以下用該症狀的英文縮寫 SAD 簡稱），感到情緒低落、對往常感興趣的事提不起勁、改變睡眠習性和食慾…雖然目前還沒有確切的統計數據，但是普遍認為世界上有 1% ～ 9% 的人受到 SAD 的影響。
Although we may think of it as being a distinct affliction of its own, SAD is actually classified as either bipolar or major depressive disorder, but with a seasonal pattern. This means that people who experience it feel much worse in the fall and winter and relatively balanced or potentially even manic in the summer months.
很多人可能會認為 SAD 是自成一類的心理疾病，但它其實被歸類在躁鬱與抑鬱症的範圍之中，只是發作頻率具有季節性。這意味著在秋冬之際，罹患 SAD 的人心情會特別鬱悶，但在夏月時會相對穩定許多，甚至情緒高漲。
Even though we are making greater efforts as a society to recognize the importance of our mental health, it can be tempting to dismiss SAD as a touch of the “winter blues” and to try to get on with life as usual. But the best approach probably is to accept and recognize that it’s something that we may genuinely suffer from — and need treatment for. Just as we would for heart disease or diabetes.
雖然我們努力想要跟這個社會一樣，注重心理健康的重要性，但我們很有可能會將 SAD 想成是輕微的「冬季憂鬱」，然後試著像往常一樣繼續過生活。但最好的方法或許是接受和辨識出我們真的很痛苦—而且需要治療，就像是如果我們有心臟病或糖尿病，也會想辦法治療一樣。
So, why does winter make us SAD? The story of SAD starts with our circadian rhythm — our internal body clock that tells us when to eat, go to sleep and wake up. For the most part, we tend not to think too much about this system unless we have an unexpectedly late night or take a long-haul flight. But chronobiologist Emily Manoogian PhD says it plays a much more significant role.
那麼，到底為什麼冬天會讓人憂鬱、讓人 SAD 呢？這要從晝夜節律開始講起—我們體內的生理時鐘會告訴我們什麼時候該吃飯、睡覺和起床。我們大多數時間都不會對這個規律有什麼實質上的感覺，除非突然熬夜或搭長途飛機。但生物鐘學博士 Emily Manoogian 指出，其實生物時鐘扮演了很重要的角色。
“The circadian system is directly tied to how our brain functions, and this affects our cognitive ability, our behavior, our mood and our ability to remember things,” says Manoogian. “The circadian system is important for making sure that throughout your body and brain, regions are talking to each other the way that they should be and everything is balanced. We know that circadian disruption is heavily associated with every form of affective disorder — such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, etc.”
「晝夜節律和我們的大腦運作息息相關，它會影響我們的認知能力、行為、心情和記憶力。這個節律很重要，可以確保你的身體和大腦各個區域正常的互動，維持各項功能的平衡。我們知道規律要是失衡的話，就會產生各種情緒方面的疾病，像是抑鬱症、躁鬱症等等。」Manoogian 說。
Increased darkness in the fall and winter months is something that humans on much of the planet have experienced for thousands of years, but our technological advancement — in particular, artificial light — is interfering with this natural occurrence. Light is one of the most powerful stimuli for our circadian systems, and since the advent of electricity we’ve been sending our bodies a lot of mixed messages.
雖然幾千年來，大部分地球上的人類都經歷著秋冬的漫漫長夜，但隨著科技的進步—尤其是人造燈光的出現，擾亂了大自然的規律。燈光對我們的生理時鐘影響極深，而且自從電氣時代來臨後，我們一直都在傳遞混亂的訊息給身體。
“This environment that we’ve created is inherently disruptive — it’s not lights on and off at a constant time to allow for a proper rest for our body; it’s lights on when we need to be up for work on some days, and then off later on other days,” explains Manoogian. “That creates this kind of social jetlag. That’s also going to make it a lot harder to sleep, and it can compromise health over time.”
「我們所製造的環境，從本質上來說就非常混亂，因為開關燈並不是為了讓身體得到休息，而是意味著哪些時候我們該起床工作，哪些時候我們又要因為工作晚熄燈。這會導致社交時差，也會讓我們更難以入睡，漸漸犧牲掉自己的健康。」Manoogian 解釋。
精選單字
conclusive figures 確切的數據
distinct 明顯不同的、有區別的
a touch of 一點點
long-haul flight 長途航班
interfere with 擾亂、打亂
compromise 犧牲
艾咪碎碎念：這次的選文是要獻給覺得自己有「冬季憂鬱」的人噢！如果情況很嚴重的話，說不定是罹患了 SAD 呢！大家請不要避諱，一定要去諮商唷！因為這篇文章很長，所以只節錄一半，如果想要看完整的文章可以點原文進去閱讀唷～下次見 :)
