It’s winter time again in the Northern Hemisphere and many people are suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Are you one of them? If you’re tired, depressed, cranky, craving carbs and low on energy, you’re not alone.
According to researchers, up to 10 percent of New Englanders report these symptoms and even people in the Mid Atlantic and Southern states suffer from them to a lesser extent. When the Northern Hemisphere is tipped away from the sun so that it doesn’t receive as much sunlight each day, many people report that it affects them.
So, what can we do? Well, maybe a trip to Spain or Italy if we can afford it. A couple weeks of lying around the French Riveria or drinking coffee in a sidewalk cafe in Provence probably wouldn’t hurt. But if, like me, you can’t quite afford any of that and have a job you have to show up for each day, there are alternatives.
Many people report that they feel better after 2-6 week’s worth of lightbox treatments. Lightboxes are – well – boxes with flourescent lightbulbs in them. You sit in front of them for a few minutes each morning and they stimulate the natural hormones that sunlight stimulates. People who use them report that they sleep better, have more energy and have reduced carbohydrate cravings. They range in price from under $100 to over $500. So why can’t we just sit under a bright light, which is much cheaper?
Unfortunately, even the brightest light in our homes isn’t bright enough to replace the light from the sun. Lightboxes are designed to provide the equivalent to an hour’s worth of sunlight in the morning on a summer’s day. That’s what most people need to produce serotonin, the hormone that regulates many body functions, including sleep and appetite.
What else can you do if you suffer from SAD? Well, don’t just stay home sinking deeper into a routine of sleeping and eating too much. Get out and move around, even if that’s the last thing you feel like doing. Visit friends. Walk around the mall window shopping. Exercise is good for SAD symptoms. Go to the library or a bookstore and get a new book that everyone is talking about. Then join a reading group and talk about it with other people.
Sampling perfume and sniffing candles is aromatherapy. Taking a bath with stimulating bath oils in it is another way to perk up. Using new and exotic spices for cooking can substitute for overeating and give you a lift. Anything you do to stimulate your senses will help your energy level and give you a reason to stay awake.
Whatever you do, don’t just sit around, watching tv and eating and drinking too much. Force yourself to do things and you’ll find after awhile that you’re doing them because you want to. Get through January and February this way and your SAD symptoms will diminish as spring sunshine beckons you outdoors.
As soon as possible, get back into gardening or walking or just puttering around the yard. Get out into the sunshine while you can. Natural sunshine is nature’s best remedy for the blues.
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