People with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) aren’t the only ones who feel down come January. Scientific evidence now proves that most people’s moods dip when the weather turns chilly.

Morton G. Harmatz, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has found that most people are more depressed, hostile, angry, irritable and anxious in winter than in summer. This depression isn’t as serious as that of SAD sufferers, says Harmatz. Still, he says, his work “will help people understand why they have mood shifts in winter.” Harmatz believes that our seasonal slump may be due in part to the lack of light in colder months. Light seems to function as a natural antidepressant, though scientists aren’t exactly sure how. Accordingly, light therapy, a new treatment increasingly being prescribed for clinical depression and jet lag, may be one useful solution for a mild case of the blues. Says Harmatz: “Clinical research suggests that it works.”

Light therapy or phototherapy consists of exposure to specific wavelengths of light using lasers, LEDs, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light, for a prescribed amount of time. It has proven effective in treating Acne, seasonal affective disorder, and for some people it has lessened the affects of delayed sleep phase syndrome. It has recently been shown effective in non-seasonal depression. Proponents claim demonstrable benefits for skin conditions such as psoriasis.

Full sunlight is preferred for seasonal affective disorder. Other treatments are based upon infrared light exposure. There are a number of products (such as light boxes) using very intense artificial illumination that are effective for seasonal affective disorder. These lamps at prescribed distance provide 10,000 lux directed angularly at the user’s eyes, without harmful ultraviolet radiation. New research indicates that using only certain wavelengths of light (i.e., the “blue” wavelengths) is the most helpful until one approaches old age, when blue light is no longer more effective than red or green.

Well, there you have it, honey, just another “dynomite” reason to head south for an extended fishing trip. Does anyone have a cheap time share in say; “Bahamas, Mama? “

Tags: Depression, depression treatment, light box, SAD, seasonal affective disorder

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2008 at 10:57 am and is filed under Healthy Living, Mental Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.