SAD light can be solution for darker days

I bet you’ve noticed what I’ve noticed – it’s no longer light at 8 in the evening. In the winter months many of us cocoon, staying inside more, not feeling that energy that the light gives us late in the day. For many of us that means less energy – which is the hallmark of Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as SAD.

I’ve had SAD since I was a child. I’m not one to suffer from depression – my SAD is not the depression side but more SAD lite. I find that my get-up-and-go just got up and went. But decades ago I found a treatment, a non-drug therapy, that seems to work for me and it’s a SAD light.

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. Losing minutes of daylight each day until late December translates into several hours with less sunlight.

What do we do? Well one treatment is anti-depressants – and for those with depression that worsens this may be your first choice. I have a number of patients who take Prozac around this time and stop taking it in the spring. If you’re one of them then it may be time to fill your prescription.

But for many it can mean using a SAD light. You can find them all over the place – at Amazon.com the one I like is called Lightphoria. It’s portable (I take it with me when I travel to help me with jetlag), small, energy efficient (it uses LED lights that are cool and crisp), it has a timer and costs less than $70. The older ones that used incandescent lights had too much glare, were too hot and cost a ton of money, more than $300.

I used to tell people to make these out of fluorescent lights – four bulbs will do it – but by the time you buy the equipment, make the light and set it up you’re at about the same price point. And it’s not nearly as portable.

How to use them? It’s a daily routine, not looking directly into the light but just having it by you, at your side, while you’re looking at something else. For me it’s sitting with my coffee in front of the computer catching up on email or writing this column for 30 minutes.

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. I find that I don’t have those 8 p.m. blues thinking about sleep. It’s dark outside but it doesn’t seem to bother me as much.

Now some say it’s a placebo. Perhaps. Who cares? You can’t do a double-blind placebo controlled study using light. How can you “blind” light?

But if you suffer from SAD this time of year, this might just be for you. If you get depressed every fall and winter you might try the light first before taking your antidepressant.

The other thing that’s essential in fighting SAD is to get out and move. Do something. Anything. That cooped-up feeling is because we often just coop ourselves up – an unnatural thing to do. It just doesn’t feel as good to be inside all the time.

My spin: If you have the winter blues, brighten up with a nifty SAD light but don’t forget to go outside.

Dr. Zorba Paster is a family physician, professor at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and host of the public radio program “Zorba Paster on Your Health,” which airs at noon Wednesdays on 91.1 FM, and noon Sundays on 91.9 FM. His column will appear twice a month in The Spokesman-Review. He can be reached at askzorba@doctorzorba.com.