SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and the Benefits of Light Therapy and Vitamin D3

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SeaBreeze

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Article about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), light therapy and vitamin D...

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Winter’s darkness can leave you SAD, but lightbox therapy can make you glad.
by Claire Sykes
February 2012
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Every winter brings an increase in darkness caused by shorter days, often intensified by cloudier skies. Modern life steals even more light; for many people who work indoors, daytime feels more like a rumor than a fact during the colder months. It’s enough to make anyone SAD.


SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, is a mood disturbance caused by reduced exposure to sunlight. Like millions of others, Jane Vosk, 64, a retired teacher who lives in Seattle, would feel depressed, fatigued and withdrawn during the winter months. She would also crave carbohydrates, overeat and gain weight. Symptoms, which can start mild and worsen, may also include irritability, anxiety, apathy and even hopelessness.


What brightened Vosk’s life is phototherapy, in which a medical-grade lightbox provides mood-lifting light. Vosk got her first lightbox 25 years ago and says, “It changed my life.”

Learn More Here: https://energytimes.com/seeing-the-light/
 

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I must have Vampire or other nocturnal blood in me Seabreeze, because I love the night! I think what I love most is seeing the stars/moon/planets. I also love lights, folks that have good taste in lighting their neighborhoods and homes. I'd probably be wild about those long times of darkness in Alaska, but I would not like the long days. I know I'm probably a minority in this. Maybe it's because of those hot, Summer nights I spent running all over the place with my other "country bumkin" friends;) Or maybe it's just the sky at night (if it's clear). Yep, fog or smog is depressing;) denise
 
I love the night, the rain and cloudy days. But where I live most of the days of the year have sunshine, even in the frigid cold winter. I think if I couldn't get out much, was home bound or lived somewhere like England where they might not see much sun, I could easily fall into a low. More thoughts and advice on seasonal depression.


You roll out of bed at 6 a.m., drag yourself into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and THEN you glance out the window. It’s a cold December morning and you see it’s also raining lightly, (because it’s ‘warm’ at 33° F!), or sleeting/snowing, (because it’s 32° F or colder). No matter, you don’t want to go to work, that’s for sure! Lucky for my son, Bogdan, the school just called us to say, “No school today” because of the weather! So he gets to stay home and play all day… and I get to write this article!


This is the time of year that many folks—especially women, get the blues, get mildly depressed, or officially are said to be suffering from S.A.D., “Seasonal Affective Disorder.” OK, so cold, gray, dreary mornings make you down and blue? For some, this might be considered a normal reaction for a cold, dreary, morning, wouldn’t you think? I mean it’s not like everyone can be Tony Robbins or Zig Ziglar, and be persistently positive 24/7, is it? (Like “You carry sunny weather with you wherever you go!” or if you’re trying to motivate someone, you might say, “Whatever the weather outside, I know it’s sunny wherever YOU GO!” That always gives the girls a chuckle.)


This article is intended to shed some light on this issue and will first explain some of the causes of S.A.D. and then provide some practical solutions. Interestingly, S.A.D. afflicts three times as many women as men, in other words, 75 percent of those suffering are women, so women out there should pay particular attention to this.


Let’s begin with outlining the top three likely contributors to this ailment:


  1. Insufficient daylight/vitamin D
  2. Various dietary imbalances (Overeating, eating too many carbs—especially the bad ones; inadequate consumption of dark-green leafy vegetables, other colored vegetables; inadequate consumption of other “real” foods: sweet potatoes, squashes, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, organic animal products
  3. Lack of regular exercise/poor physical fitness (now you ruined my mood!)
- See more at: http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/how-not-to-be-s-a-d-this-winter/#sthash.DEOSfXqj.dpuf
 

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We make it a point to get out almost every day and exercise outside. Even in the winter, unless it's snowing/blizzard/-20 or an ice storm we try to get out on the bike trail and walk a few miles. If there's snow on the ground we'll strap on our snowshoes or cross country skis.

I think that being out in the sun, or at least being outside, really helps our outlook. Especially during the winter when the nights are long, it's a joy to spend time outdoors and we always feel uplifted after a good outdoor workout.
 
I completely do not have SAD. I love the rain. In fact I'm depressed over the drought in California. I'm not joking. The last good rain we had lifted my spirits. Unfortunately it was the last good rain we had.

I need a light home. Overcast is fine as long as I have light during the day.
 
I take vitamin D3 both summer and winter, but I double the dose in winter, not only for the immune system and fighting colds and the flu, but for mood.
 
DoItMyself said:
We make it a point to get out almost every day and exercise outside. Even in the winter, unless it's snowing/blizzard/-20 or an ice storm we try to get out on the bike trail and walk a few miles. If there's snow on the ground we'll strap on our snowshoes or cross country skis.

I think that being out in the sun, or at least being outside, really helps our outlook. Especially during the winter when the nights are long, it's a joy to spend time outdoors and we always feel uplifted after a good outdoor workout.
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I can't agree more! Sometimes I will go out even if it's raining, and at one time, I lived where there was a lot of ice on the road and we couldn't get the cars out, but we could walk with good boots etc. Fresh air and moving (exercise) does so much for our minds, as well as our physical. I have suffered depression and I know from my experience, getting outside did help immensely! Keep on keepin on! denise
 
SeaBreeze said:
I take vitamin D3 both summer and winter, but I double the dose in winter, not only for the immune system and fighting colds and the flu, but for mood.
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I believe supplements are wise, not only because of the foods we are eating may not have as much nutritional value as they should, but yes, when we aren't getting enough of something, thank goodness for supps;) denise
 
I have been sensitive to rainy days since I was very young. When I moved from Tennessee to California in 1988, I had a very pleasant change in mood. Even today, when I wake up and see it is raining, I get a slight 'sinking feeling'. I don't believe I would survive in a wet climate like Washington State.
 
The amount of daylight is dependent on how far you live from the equator (latitude). My earliest memories recall it being called "cabin fever" and it was so bad for the early prospectors/what-ever that went to Alaska that sometimes partners sharing a cabin during the winter would kill each other off because one or all of them got "cabin fever".
 
The main reason I moved to New Mexico from Nashville was SAD; all of those rainy days got to me.

My family lived far enough north in Ohio to experience lake effect. The sky there turns gray sometime in October-November and there are only a few brief glimpses of the sun until maybe April. I know that's an exaggeration, but that's how it felt to me.

With almost daily sunshine in New Mexico and daily use of D3, SAD is a thing of the past for me.
 
https://www.webmd.com/depression/us...home-to-treat-seasonal-affective-disorder-sad

How is light therapy done?

Place the light box on a desk or table, and sit in front of it at the specified distance. You can do this while you read, eat breakfast, or work at a computer. The light should reach your eyes, but don't stare at the light box.
Light therapy is usually prescribed for 30 minutes to 2 hours a day, depending on the intensity of the light used and on whether you are starting out or have been using it for a while.

Most light therapy is prescribed at 10,000 lux to be used in the early morning. Studies vary as to whether light therapy at other times of the day is less effective. But some people with SAD (perhaps those who wake up normally in the early morning) should do their light therapy for 1 to 2 hours in the evening, ending 1 hour before bedtime. Your doctor can help you decide which light exposure schedule will work best for you.

Light therapy is usually started in the fall and continued through spring.
When you begin light therapy, your first response will show you whether you need to adjust the intensity or duration. Many people respond to light therapy within 3 to 5 days. If you don't respond to treatment within the first week, you may notice improvement in the second week.
(more at website)
 
I hate winter - period. It's beyond vitamin D. LoL. I find crossing off the days on my calendar until it's April helps.
 
I was so low on vitamin D3 , my hair was falling out , I was tired all the time and my face was sweating like crazy. I started taking the D3 and I'm back to normal. I still hate the sun , so I'll be popping vitamins the rest of my life .
 
More insight on SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), podcast in link for those interested.

Rosenthal found that about 1 in 20 people in the U.S. has SAD. If you have it, you may feel sluggish or depressed, oversleep, overeat, gain weight and be uninterested in doing things you previously enjoyed. Many more people have the winter blues, a milder version of SAD, where you feel like a sadder, sleepier or slower version of yourself.
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https://www.npr.org/2020/10/23/9271...oping-with-sad-or-seasonal-affective-disorder
 
I started taking vitamin D not long ago as prescribed by my doctor so I can't really tell at this stage if it affects my mood. Is a light box really necessary or is just putting on the lights in the room enough?
 

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