Bright light cures winter blues
Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD or “winter blues,” affects almost half a million people each year, according to sada.org.uk.
Dr. Robert Olson, a psychiatrist at MeritCare, said people who live in the far south or far north are most often affected by SAD because of the change in day length that occur in different seasons.
Olson also said that SAD is found twice as often in women than in men.
Common symptoms of SAD include the desire to oversleep, a feeling of fatigue, craving sweets and carbohydrates, feeling depressed, being irritable or tense and having extreme mood swings, according to sada.org.uk.
Olson said that although there are a couple versions of SAD, the most classic version of symptoms begin to show around the middle of October and will generally back off by March or into the summer months.
“People affected will generally not have as much energy and may sleep as much as 12 to 14 hours a day and still may not feel rested,” Olson said. “People will somewhat hibernate and it seems to have the same cues as a bear.”
SAD may begin at any age but the main age of onset is between 18 and 30 years, according to sada.org.uk,
Olson said most people don’t always realize that they have SAD because symptoms may be mild enough that they don’t make the connection.
Symptoms of SAD are very similar to those of depression, which is why, Olson said, people who are diagnosed with depression are more susceptible to get SAD as well.
“It is really common that people who have depression year round find they have a tougher time in the winter. We call it seasonal roughening,” Olson said.
There are a few treatment options that can help relieve the symptoms of SAD.
Olson said the most common treatment is called Light Box Therapy. This process involves fooling the body into thinking there are longer daylight hours.
“The treatment involves a very bright light, because the body isn’t fooled easily,” Olson said.
A light bulb in a room gives off an average of 700 to 800 watts of light, Olson said and a light box used for treatment gives off about 10,000 watts of light.
“We usually recommend that patients use a light box in the morning for about half an hour, but you have to sit really close to them,” Olson said. “It isn’t the type of light that you get from something like tanning beds though, and its not for your skin, it’s for your eyes.”
People who use this type of therapy should sit two to three feet away from the light box and allow the light to shine directly through the eyes, according to sada.org.uk.
The user can carry out normal activity such as reading, working and eating while in front of the box. It isn’t necessary however to stare at the light, although it has been proven safe.
Olson also said that prescription medications such as Prozac and Zoloft can be used to help ease symptoms and exercise also helps.