ADHD and seasonal affective disorder

By Julie Rawe

Expert reviewed by Ellen Braaten, PhD

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  • Quick tip 1

    Use light therapy.

    Get a special light-therapy lamp that mimics the sun. (Look for lamps that are UV-free so they don’t cause sunburn.) Thirty minutes of light therapy each morning may help lift your mood.

  • Quick tip 2

    Consider adjusting ADHD medication.

    Talk with your health care provider. See if adjusting ADHD medication can help with winding down at night. Fine-tuning the dosage or the time you take the medication may help with sleep, which can help with mood.

  • Quick tip 3

    Learn about supplements.

    Melatonin can help reset your internal clock. Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish oil) may help too. But dosage and other factors are really important. Talk with your health care provider before starting a new supplement.

  • Quick tip 4

    Limit alcohol.

    Alcohol can interfere with sleep. The same is true for caffeine and heavy meals. Impulse control is hard with ADHD. But the food and drinks that make you feel better in the moment can make you feel worse the next day.

  • Quick tip 5

    Exercise daily.

    Help your brain fight depression with brisk walks and other activities that get your heart rate up. But don’t exercise too close to bedtime. People with ADHD need extra time to wind down before sleep.

Winter is an important time for kids and adults with ADHD to focus on their mental health. That’s because people with ADHD are more likely than people without ADHD to have seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This type of depression gets triggered by a change in the seasons. 

As the days get shorter, people are exposed to less sunlight. Many people start to feel tired and moody in the fall. These feelings tend to last through the winter. That’s why SAD is often called seasonal depression or winter depression.

Shorter days can affect sleep cycles. Many people with ADHD have trouble with sleep year-round. But seasonal changes can make their sleep problems even worse. 

Sleep affects our brain chemistry. Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep makes it harder to focus the next day. When we don’t get enough sleep, we have less energy and feel more depressed. 

But the good news is that there are many ways to help. Keep reading to learn why ADHD and seasonal depression are linked — and how better sleep can help manage “the winter blues.”

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