Wide Awake at 2 A.M.? You Might Be a New Yorker and Suffering From Insomnia
While some people thrive in the winter season, many others struggle horribly with something called Seasonal Depression which might explain why you haven’t been feeling quite right lately.
Some people refer to Seasonal Depression as the winter blues while others call it SAD. No matter the name, Seasonal Depression is very real and those suffering from it often feel symptoms such as low energy, tiredness, weight gain, feeling hopeless, and even trouble with concentration.
Mental Health America says that about five percent of Americans experience seasonal affective disorder each year but there are some states in which residents suffer from it more than in other states. Hawaii, for instance, has a low rate of people suffering from SAD while Alaska has an overwhelming number.
So, where do New York and Pennsylvania fall as far as the number of residents struggling with winter blues? Unfortunately, Pennsylvanians struggle quite a bit and live in the sixth most winter depressed state. New York, on the other hand, fares much better landing at number 33 out of 50 states.
How was this conclusion reached? CertaPet analyzed Google searches in each of the 50 states and looked for which symptoms each state was seeking help with the most. The search terms they analyzed were “seasonal depression,” seasonal affective disorder,” and “dog depression” (because yes, pets get the winter blues, too). They then factored in the amount of sunshine each state gets during the winter months, and the average winter temperature.
The study also studied the top searched mental health conditions state by state and discovered that New Yorkers struggle to sleep. Insomnia was the top searched mental health condition in the entire state of New York.