Beating Winter Blues
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| Anne Kelly |
| 11/19/2008 |
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| If the stress of buying gifts and gathering with family doesn`t get to you, the cold weather and the lack of sunlight might. Studies find nearly 20-percent of people experience a mood change as the season changes. But there is a way to treat those winter blues. While winter may be the time most homes are full of holiday cheer. It`s also the season many people aren`t, for reasons completely out of their control. "Your body sort of wants to shut down, go into this sort of like fatigue, tired, rest mode, subjectively that can seem like you`re very depressed," says Dr. Mark Doerner, a psychologist. A lack of sunlight can cause the body to go into a hibernation mode, a resulting shift in moods is often referred to as seasonal affective disorder. Three quarters of sufferers are women. For many the cure to boosting your mood is getting more natural light. "Putting your desk by a window, going for a walk at lunch even though it`s cold outside," says Dr. Doerner. But if natural light isn`t the easiest option, artificial light works too. Great Plains Rehabilitation Services in Bismarck sells light boxes that emit UV rays. The boxes are $300 but Dr. Denny Greenstein says those truly fighting the winter blues are willing to pay the price because it helps cut down on the production of melatonin, a hormone the brain produces in response to darkness. "You want to use it first thing in the morning," says Greenstein. Greenstein says 30 minutes spent sitting just over a foot away from the light everyday will improve one`s mood. Dr. Joel Blanchard says the key is to place the light right in front of your face. "It doesn`t help if it hits your arm or chest, you want it to hit your eyes because that`s where the light has the effect on the brain`s melatonin center," says Dr. Blanchard. If light boxes are a bit too expensive for you, turning to a tanning bed is always an option as well. But unlike a light box, tanning is not a safe option for everyday use. It is possible to make your own `light box` for light therapy, but experts advise against that. The ones you buy filter out UV rays. That`s not the case if you make one on your own. |
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