SAD Therapy - A Survival Guide

It is the retina in the eye which responds to the amount of light and interacts with our neurotransmitters in the brain so that we seek less light at night (thus producing melatonin) which helps us to sleep and more light during the day to keep us active. Light also affects our production of serotonin which is an important hormone for our mood. The more light we have, then this produces cortisol which keeps us going during the day. If we stay up too late at the computer, the light from the screen will trick our brain into thinking it is daytime and we will suffer from insomnia.

Obviously during fall and winter, the lack of light affects us and if we are extra sensitive, then we will become depressed and melancholy.

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Women are four times more likely to suffer from SAD than men.
The typical symptoms of SAD are :-
1. Tendency to isolate oneself and decline invitations to social gatherings or simply not hanging out with friends. I call this the Greta Garbo Syndrome - 'I want to be alone ' !
2. Feelings of melancholy , depression and a sense of hopelessness.
3. There may be feelings of anxiety.
4. Craving for certain foods - eg. carbohydrates (comfort food !!)
5. Dramatic fall in energy levels
6. Lack of concentration.

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Your doctor or counsellor may recommend various treatment options :-
1. Exercise. An unpopular option for the couch or mouse potato! The effects of exercise though in the open air (a brisk walk of 30 minutes ) can do wonders for your mood. If you cannot exercise outside because of the awful weather, try an exercise bike or treadmill inside. I am not a mouse potato yet but if I have to spend long hours in front of the computer, then I will set the oven timer to go off every hour so that I can get up and move around a bit. These can be simple stretching exercises or yoga poses or whatever.

2. Cognitive therapy may be recommended by your doctor or counsellor.

3. Anti- Depressants. Again your doctor may prescribe these. These will take a good three weeks to kick in. But it is better to know what you are taking and what the side effects are. Basically the best ones for SAD are the SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors). These will help your brain to produce more serotonin which is great for improving your mood. Chocolate also produces serotonin but that might affect your waistline- but chocolate in moderation never harmed anybody!

4. Herbal Remedies are very effective in the treatment of SAD. There are much fewer side effects than the anti-depressants and this sort of remedy is the first choice in Europe and especially in Germany where prescriptions for Prozac are only 2% while those for St. John's Wort account for 50% of the prescriptions.

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Light Therapy : Basically light therapy will consist in re-producing the rays of the sun at home or in the office but a special type of light or SAD lamp needs to be purchased. When subjects are exposed to this light, a biochemical change occurs in their brain causing their spirits to lift and creating a sense of well being. If you regularly sit in front of a light box for a short period of say 30- 40 minutes a day, you may notice an improvement in your condition after 3 or 4 days. SAD Light therapy does NOT work for other forms of depression, unfortunately.

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Before buying or even considering buying a SAD lamp or Light therapy box, you may want to keep in mind the following advice. The price tag can be an indicator of quality but not always. You can expect to pay from $180 - $400 for a really good quality lamp. Another good indicator of quality is the guarantee. I have noticed that some of lamp companies offer a life guarantee while others range from 1-2 years. What are the key elements to look for?
1. Make sure it gives full spectrum light. Full spectrum light is the nearest thing you can get to natural daylight/sunlight. How do you know if the lamp really gives full spectrum light ? The specifications should say that the Kelvin temperature is between 5,000 and 6,000. If they tell you that you can buy the replacement bulbs at your electrical store, then this is an indicator that it is NOT full spectrum light !
2. The light provided should be 10,000 lux. Just to give you an idea of lux (ways of measuring intensity of light), the following figures can be helpful. When we are indoors, we have 400 lux, a cloudy day outdoors is about 30,000 and a bright sunny day can be up to 50,000 ! If it snows, the figure shoots up. Bright snowy days are red letter days for SAD sufferers and it costs nothing!
3. How long will the bubs last? Figures here will vary but we should expect anything between 6,000 and 10,000 hours.
4. Check the footprint size to make sure it is going to fit on your work area or desk or wherever you are going to use it.
5. Check the overall size as well - many people have to bring their light boxes with them to work as they work in badly lit places. If it comes with a handy travelling case , then that is definitely a plus.
6. Check the specifications or the sales pitch for things like : glare, flicker, buzz-free.
There is a wide range of lamps on offer but if you follow the above guidelines you will be able to make an informed decision which will help you to enjoy your SAD lamp for many years to come.

What Are Dawn Dusk Simulators ?
Another way of treating SAD is to purchase a bodyclock dawn simulator which you can put by your bedside table. These are great because they help you to get up with less trauma especially if you are NOT a morning person. If you set the alarm on the clock, a very gentle light will start at about half an hour beforehand and then will become normal daylight when it is actually time to get up. Some models will switch off automatically after about 10 minutes. On going to bed you can turn on the dusk simulator and
the light gradually fades until you fall asleep. They use an important principle in that the morning is to lighten up ( in every sense of the word!) while the evening we are trying to produce more melatonin so we are darkening down. Generally it is recommended that we avoid bright lights (TV, PCs) so that we can prepare better for sleep. The dawn dusk simulator is just great for this, I find.