Finding a light in the battle against SAD
Every year at this time, the days become shorter and the nights longer. We look outside at the blackness and wonder, “Gee, is it really only 7:30?” We have to think more about what we eat and how to exercise.
And then there is the bogeyman for many of us: seasonal affective disorder.
As so many of you know, the lack of sun can affect our mood, and I am no stranger to that. Years ago when I was in medical school — going to class in the dark and coming home in the dark — I realized I was like a plant: I needed sunshine.
SAD is the highly appropriate acronym for the condition that was first identified by psychiatrists in the 1980s. The farther north you are, the more common it is.
For some, SAD starts right after the fall equinox in September, while for others it kicks in about the end of Daylight Saving Time in late October or early November.
What do we do? Lots of us try to hibernate. But that doesn’t really help our mood, our muscles or our weight. So let’s consider other ways to cope.
SAD lights: You can buy these nifty LED lights for about $70, and using them is easy — much easier than the bulky old fluorescent versions I used to instruct people how to make, or the clunky incandescent ones that made you as hot as sitting in the sun. Put the LED lights at about a 45-degree angle to your side, at an arm’s length or less, and don’t stare right into them. You can watch TV, look at a computer screen and scan Facebook while the light is on. Mine has a timer for 30 to 40 minutes and shuts off when I’m done with my treatment.
I highly recommend these lights. I have found they give me energy and motivation, which seems to go out the window when it’s dark. Instead of looking to go off to sleep at 8 p.m., I now stay up to my usual 11 p.m.
Some say it’s all a placebo, that any benefit is in your head. But there’s no real way to study this — you’re either exposed to the light or you’re not — so you can’t “blind” a light study. Besides, if there’s a non-drug way of treating SAD, why not go for it?
There are other treatments for SAD, including cognitive behavioral therapy with a psychologist, or medication such as an anti-depressant. For some, this is important. Some of my patients who are borderline depressed, for example, find that winter brings out more symptoms. They start taking Prozac around this time of year, then stop in the early spring. Others start medication in September and stop when the days begin getting longer again in mid-January.
The other thing that’s essential in fighting SAD is to get out and move. The weather is getting colder and soon the snow will fly, along with the ice and sleet. But instead of focusing on what keeps you from going outside, figure out how to get out there and move.
No one likes to stay inside – that produces cabin fever. For me, getting outside means layering, wearing the right shoes or boots, knowing when to go out or stay in and then taking action.