Seasonal affective disorder and engagement in physical activities among adults in Alaska

Abstract

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression in which symptoms occur during a particular season. While physical activity has been shown to improve symptoms for depression in general populations, the relationships between physical activity and experiences of seasonality and SAD remain underexplored. We conducted a survey with adult members of a recreational gym in Fairbanks, Alaska. The survey collected self-report data on sociodemographics, health behaviours, and elements of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). Results indicate that 18.68% of our study participants meet the criteria for winter-pattern SAD and 43.96% meet the criteria for subsyndromal SAD (“winter blues”). We conducted two regressions to understand experiences of SAD and predictors of seasonality more generally. Gender was a significant predictor of SAD, with women more likely than men to experience SAD (p = .04). Being social at the gym, whether going to the gym with others or participating in activities with others, was associated with higher seasonality than being independent at the gym (p = .03). Younger age was also associated with higher seasonality (p < .001). This study contributes new insights about the relationship between engagement in physical activities and experiences of seasonality among adults in a northern latitude.

Keywords

• seasonality
• depression
• exercise
• northern latitude
• gym sociality