Posted by jrbecker on October 24, 2003, at 21:06:33
In reply to Re: Light therapy » JonW, posted by jrbecker on October 22, 2003, at 23:56:53
Bright ideas help beat the blues as daylight fades
BY BOB CONDOR
Chicago Tribune(KRT) - No matter what the weather, Charmane Eastman loves it when we turn back our clocks one hour.
"It makes me happy because I am a night owl," said Eastman, who as director of the Biological Rhythms Research Lab at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center is supremely qualified to discuss the "falling back" from daylight-saving time. "I can go to bed at midnight and it's really 11 p.m."
Eastman said the turn-back is easy for most everyone's schedule. What's challenging for many people will be the shrinking availability of daylight during the next few months.
November through January are the darkest months. Too many folks wake up in the dark, get ready for work or school, then come back home in the dark later in the day. Cold or snowy weather encourages some people to spend minimal amounts of time outside.
A result can be winter depression, or seasonal affective disorder. The condition might range from mild irritation and anxiety to a deep depression. Our vulnerability can shift by age - late teen years through the early 40s is prime time, especially for females.
If you are experiencing symptoms that disrupt your ability to complete daily tasks or enjoy life, Eastman recommends counseling.
Those of us who feel a little sluggish or vaguely "blue" as winter unfolds will benefit from Eastman's ideas for the coming season.
"The best time to treat your symptoms is with light in the morning hours," said Eastman. "It's especially hard on the body's biological clock when people wake up and leave for work in the dark."
That's because afternoon light in many areas usually isn't very bright. Numerous studies maintain the winter blues are a matter of our higher latitude, while others are less clear on this geographical link.
If you can't get outside in the morning, lunchtime is another healthful option for lifting your mood with sunlight. Make it a point to get out of the house or office on sunny days. Walk to meet a friend; run an errand on foot.
"Even on an overcast day it is brighter outside than if you have all the lights turned on in your home," said Eastman, who has carried a light meter around with her to prove it. "It's an optical illusion only photographers seem to grasp. It can be 10,000K bright even when it's gray and rainy."
A brief lesson: Color temperature is expressed on the Kelvin scale (K). Most of us can distinguish between "warm" or "cool" light but only our circadian system, or our daily biological clock, can truly decipher different wavelengths of light.
Eastman said most light bulbs, fluorescent, halogen or incandescent, don't have enough blue in their color spectrum to give us much relief when we feel down.
"The cutting-edge research in our field is showing the circadian system is a different visual system than the one we use to see where we are going," said Eastman. "Our body clock doesn't need the rods and cones required by the retina. The circadian system is especially sensitive (and responsive) to blue light, or shorter wavelengths of light, as it enters the eyes."
Trouble is, we won't get it from most light sources in the house. Eastman said light boxes and other devices can provide the right type of light but that many are too small_they are marketed for portability_to do much good.
Eastman uses a light box that is 2 feet by 4 feet, tilted toward her workspace.
Eastman uses a "daylight" bulb specially manufactured with a higher color temperature in the bulb. The typical incandescent bulb might be "cool" at 4,000K. She uses some bulbs reaching 6,500K.
"The color temperature is on the package (after the slash showing watts)," said Eastman. "You want to get products with higher readings."
There are other ways to combat the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, which include oversleeping or poor sleep and craving carbohydrates. For one thing, Eastman suggests waking up at the same time every day. Sleeping in on weekends can be compounding your reaction to the lack of daylight. Regular physical activity is another positive move.
"I'm also a big fan of short naps," said Eastman. "Your nap should come at the midpoint of your waking hours, or the 3 to 5 p.m. range for a person who wakes up at 8 in morning and goes to sleep at midnight. A nap can be refreshing and make you more productive, but don't take one too close to your bedtime."
---
(Bob Condor writes for the Chicago Tribune. Write to him at: the Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.)
---
© 2003, Chicago Tribune.
BY BOB CONDOR
Chicago Tribune(KRT) - No matter what the weather, Charmane Eastman loves it when we turn back our clocks one hour.
"It makes me happy because I am a night owl," said Eastman, who as director of the Biological Rhythms Research Lab at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center is supremely qualified to discuss the "falling back" from daylight-saving time. "I can go to bed at midnight and it's really 11 p.m."
Eastman said the turn-back is easy for most everyone's schedule. What's challenging for many people will be the shrinking availability of daylight during the next few months.
November through January are the darkest months. Too many folks wake up in the dark, get ready for work or school, then come back home in the dark later in the day. Cold or snowy weather encourages some people to spend minimal amounts of time outside.
A result can be winter depression, or seasonal affective disorder. The condition might range from mild irritation and anxiety to a deep depression. Our vulnerability can shift by age - late teen years through the early 40s is prime time, especially for females.
If you are experiencing symptoms that disrupt your ability to complete daily tasks or enjoy life, Eastman recommends counseling.
Those of us who feel a little sluggish or vaguely "blue" as winter unfolds will benefit from Eastman's ideas for the coming season.
"The best time to treat your symptoms is with light in the morning hours," said Eastman. "It's especially hard on the body's biological clock when people wake up and leave for work in the dark."
That's because afternoon light in many areas usually isn't very bright. Numerous studies maintain the winter blues are a matter of our higher latitude, while others are less clear on this geographical link.
If you can't get outside in the morning, lunchtime is another healthful option for lifting your mood with sunlight. Make it a point to get out of the house or office on sunny days. Walk to meet a friend; run an errand on foot.
"Even on an overcast day it is brighter outside than if you have all the lights turned on in your home," said Eastman, who has carried a light meter around with her to prove it. "It's an optical illusion only photographers seem to grasp. It can be 10,000K bright even when it's gray and rainy."
A brief lesson: Color temperature is expressed on the Kelvin scale (K). Most of us can distinguish between "warm" or "cool" light but only our circadian system, or our daily biological clock, can truly decipher different wavelengths of light.
Eastman said most light bulbs, fluorescent, halogen or incandescent, don't have enough blue in their color spectrum to give us much relief when we feel down.
"The cutting-edge research in our field is showing the circadian system is a different visual system than the one we use to see where we are going," said Eastman. "Our body clock doesn't need the rods and cones required by the retina. The circadian system is especially sensitive (and responsive) to blue light, or shorter wavelengths of light, as it enters the eyes."
Trouble is, we won't get it from most light sources in the house. Eastman said light boxes and other devices can provide the right type of light but that many are too small_they are marketed for portability_to do much good.
Eastman uses a light box that is 2 feet by 4 feet, tilted toward her workspace.
Eastman uses a "daylight" bulb specially manufactured with a higher color temperature in the bulb. The typical incandescent bulb might be "cool" at 4,000K. She uses some bulbs reaching 6,500K.
"The color temperature is on the package (after the slash showing watts)," said Eastman. "You want to get products with higher readings."
There are other ways to combat the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, which include oversleeping or poor sleep and craving carbohydrates. For one thing, Eastman suggests waking up at the same time every day. Sleeping in on weekends can be compounding your reaction to the lack of daylight. Regular physical activity is another positive move.
"I'm also a big fan of short naps," said Eastman. "Your nap should come at the midpoint of your waking hours, or the 3 to 5 p.m. range for a person who wakes up at 8 in morning and goes to sleep at midnight. A nap can be refreshing and make you more productive, but don't take one too close to your bedtime."
---
(Bob Condor writes for the Chicago Tribune. Write to him at: the Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.)
---
© 2003, Chicago Tribune.
> Interesting. However, I read recently that it was blue light that has the largest effect on circadian clock, and thus, perhaps mood.
> Perhaps this is one more reason why a bright (blue sky) day affects mood/energy...
>
> http://www.hon.ch/News/HSN/515114.html
>
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030911072038.htm
>
>
>
>
> > > I have just started with Lexapro. Does anyone have a prescription light for depression that they do not use anymore? My Psych said that the light therapy would help with the fatigue part of depression.
> >
> > Not too long ago I went to see Peter Mueller (of Princeton, NJ) for possible TLE, and have decided that he's insane... Probably well-intentioned, but nonetheless nuts :) Anyway, one of his things is using colored sunglasses to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. He claims that it's not the amount of light someone is exposed to that matters, but the wavelength (color). Apparently, there's some study that was done on rats that shows certain wavelengths (colors) have possitive effects. Yellow and Red seem to be the important ones. For me, I have to admit that wearing yellow sunglasses makes me giddy. I don't use this as treatment, but can report a positive experience from wearing yellow sunglasses. Anyway, just a thought... you might want to go somewhere they sell sunglasses and try wearing a yellow pair for a few minutes to see what effect it has on you. You could also try red. If it were to be helpful, it's a lot cheaper than a lightbox. For me, light therapy is moderately helpful at best. I hate to admit it, but the sunglasses actually are better for me. I am curious... is there anyone else reading this who's had a similar experience with yellow or red sunglasses?
> >
> > Jon :)
>
>
poster:jrbecker
thread:272047
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031021/msgs/272908.html