We’re sad here in New England.

To be precise, that’s SAD, an apt acronym for seasonal affective disorder. Caused by a lack of sunlight, SAD symptoms include despair, dread and depression — what I call the three Ds — as well as lethargy, sleep problems and a craving for carbohydrates. Unlike other forms of depression, SAD recurs seasonally, usually beginning in late fall and ending when spring arrives.

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SAD is more prevalent in people who live far north or south of the equator. About 9 percent of people who live in New England and Alaska suffer from SAD. Most experience mild cases of the “winter blues,” but for 6 percent of the U.S. population overall, the symptoms are more severe.

Surprisingly, SAD is more prevalent in the Northeastern United States than in Iceland, where residents spend half the year in near-total darkness. I discovered this little fact as I was reading the book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner — a fascinating travel perspective, at times humorous and at times profound, with some science and psychology thrown into the mix. According to the World Database of Happiness in Rotterdam, which collects all the available information about what makes people happy and why, one of the happiest places is Iceland.

A study (about 25 years ago) by the National University Hospital in Reykjavík concluded that, as the Icelandic population has remained remarkably isolated during the past 1,000 years, it is conceivable those with a predisposition to SAD were at a disadvantage, and there may have been a population selection toward increased tolerance of winter darkness.

I can’t say if I have a clinical case of SAD, but I do know the shorter days and lack of sunlight affect me. From the date we change the clocks in November to the winter solstice, the sinking sun seems to lead to sinking feelings. By February, I’m seeking out greenhouses to surround myself with thriving plants. After this year’s exceptionally rainy summer and autumn, I’m calling it New England gray.

I do what I can to get outside to catch some daylight, even on cloudy days. Things like light therapy (with full-spectrum lighting), exercise, meditation, a healthy diet and vitamin D can all help combat the feeling of dread.

In my area, the winter solstice day will be about six hours shorter than the summer solstice day in June. We’ll only see about nine hours of daylight. The good news is, once we’ve moved past the winter solstice, we’ll start gaining precious seconds of daylight per day.

In the meantime, I’ll try to take a lesson from the Icelandic people and embrace the darkness.

— Jan Hecht, senior editor