Let the Sun Shine (In Winter?)

It's autumn. We are quickly moving into winter when the days get colder and shorter.
We often wake up later, want to go to bed earlier and suddenly get a yearning for bread, candy, cakes and all those other great carbs that call to us from the kitchen. While some folks just don't like these colder, darker months, others actually begin to get the symptoms of depression. These signs include sadness, lower motivation and less enjoyment of activities we usually like to do, pulling away from friends, sleep disruptions, and a feeling that the future just doesn't hold much hope. When depression begins with the onset of winter, it's a subtype known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or "SAD".

Since the 1980's Dr. Michael Terman, a psychologist, has conducted research on the therapeutic effects of "bright light therapy" as adjunctive treatment for SAD at the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at Columbia University Medical Center.

Bright Light Therapy (BLT) involves the use of a full-spectrum light box (costing $150-200) that clients sit in front of for 30 minutes a day to mimic the light exposure we typically get in the longer, lighter days of summer. Don't worry about UV radiation as the light used blocks this type of wave length. You won't be staring at the light, just reading by it or eating your breakfast while it's on. The treatment is usually recommended for the morning. When used in combination with talk psychotherapy, BLT can provide a successful treatment for depression without the use of medication (although some cases of SAD do benefit from the addition of an anti-depressant).

For more information check out these links

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2006/properly-timed-light-melatonin-lift-winter-depression-by-syncing-rhythms.shtml

http://sunbox.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Terman

And..don't forget to walk on the sunny side of the street!