Winter Blues

My friend e-mailed me the other night to remind me of the climate this winter in MN.  Yikes…I thought of those affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder.   

Then, I saw the editor’s piece last night on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). 

 Not sure if one of my friends has the “light-box” but I do remember she had lights, bright ones, all over her home. 

In fact, they were so bright I refused to visit her powder room any more as those lights revealed to me the gaping pores in my face.  I kept quiet about the lights, but then, when another friend visited the same bathroom, a little later, she just screamed.  I understood! 

We just didn’t realize how ugly we were.  On the way out of the house, we stood to bid ‘fare-well’.  It was the long MN good-bye. Due to all of the lights, even in the hallway sweating with coats on too - it felt like we were being interrogated by Scotland Yard.  MI4, MI5 & Scotland Yard in Roseville!!

Every year since that night, we laugh about it.  Having said that, we do take it seriously, and have been discussing this in places of work over the years with  how this affects people.  It is personal too because where I grew up, we receive very little sunlight (more than half of the time, the sky is overcast and drizzling rain) and people ache for light – Biologically speaking, the sun still rules our world.  But, what do you do? 

In 1900, 75 percent of North Americans worked outdoors, rising and retiring with the sun.  By 1970, only 10 per cent did – number that prompted researches to say that we live in a light-deprived society.  They say mood disorders and anxiety have increased by 10 per cent every decade.  This may or may not be a coincidence.  One researcher described the disorder “like a chronic form of jet lag”.

Seasonal depression affects more than 10 million Americans.  It is said that SAD sufferers tend to respond readily to very thing we are missing this time of year: Light.  

To rid yourself of the Blahs…here is what I consistently read what the experts say you need: 

A treatment of Light, (you could move closer to me, closer to the equator, where the sun rises and sets at a more consistent time all year long.) You can purchase a Light Box outfitted with special bulbs that mimic the brightness of the morning sun.  As for choosing a light box, look up the Center for Environmental Therapeutics (CET), a nonprofit that investigates light therapy.  The cost, I think begins, about 140.00 dollars. That was the price a few years back. I thought I saw a shop on West 7th Street, close to Xcel Energy Center advertising SAD lights in their shop window couple of years ago.

Sleeping Well.  A good night’s sleep in order to mitigate winter depression & keep those rise and fall times (bed time, wake time) consistent – receiving 8 to 9 hours. –Wishful thinking for lots of us.

Eating Well.  Eating can affect our brain chemistry and our mood.  We often desire high-carbohydrate comfort foods in winter.  Resist!  The refined carbs, like sugar deplete our serotonin levels too quickly afterwards.  We need beans, seeds, nuts, and root vegetables.

Exercise…Cardio, mood lifting yoga – anything.  Just to get moving.

Supplements.   Vitamin D.  Deficiency in this vitamin is common and may contribute to seasonal depression.  Light boxes do not provide the Vitamin D!  More later on this.  Multivitamin, B-Vitamin Complex and Omega 3 rich fish oil can help fill in any nutritional gaps.

Connect with the outdoors…Brisk walk at the local park regardless of weather, cross-country skiing, follow that goose, find a mallard - connect.  At least 15 to 20 minute a day.

Talk with your friends about it.  You are not Alone…Or, in our circle of friends, we ended up more worried about ourselves, not what the sun & solar system is doing – but what the lights exposed…our faces!

VITAMIN D

Being a big believer in milking the sun, for the free Vitamin it produces, for myself and others, I regard this was an interesting article that appeared in Read Simple magazine recently.  When I could, I would dress the elderly in Woodbury with a coat and wheel them out to the sun, even if it was quite chilly. In my little research in Woodbury, often, we all would have a renewed spirit after the excursion! 

 Dr. Michael Holick from the Skin and Bone research Lab at Boston University School of Medicine.  Here is what he had to say on the subject.

Why are so many of us lacking Vitamin D?

For thousands of years, human being depended on the sun for their required vitamin D.  But for the past three decades dermatologists have been telling people to avoid direct un exposure because of skin cancer.  Add an increase in children playing indoors and you get a worldwide deficiency pandemic.

Why does Vitamin D matter?

Along with calcium, it helps children develop healthy bones and adults maintain them.  But the reason vitamin D has become such a hot topic in the last few years is that we recently discovered that many cells in the body have a vitamin D receptor.  Vitamin D plays an important role in modulating the immune system.  If you have sufficient levels, you are better able to fight infection and are less likely to acquire autoimmune diseases, heart disease and some common cancers.

How much Vitamin D do I need?

The minimum is 600 IU (international units) a day for the average healthy adult.  Dr. Holick prefers that his patients get 1,500 to 2,000.  You can buy supplements (D2 and D3 are both effective) made by any national brand in any form, from gummies to pills.

Do I need to get a blood test first?

No, he says!  Assume that you are deficient.  Close to a billion of our health-care dollars are spent on that test every year, and few of us need it.  But if you are obese, if you take antiseizure medicines, if you have a gastrointestinal or intestinal-malabsorption problem or a granuloma disorder, like sarcoidosis, consult your doctor first.

Should I get vitamin D from the Sun?

The vitamin D our body makes when it absorbs sunlight is a good source, so the doctor suggests sensible sun exposure in addition to taking supplements and eating foods with vitamin D.  Ask yourself how long it takes you to develop the mild sunburn, and then go outside for half that time two or three times a week, during warm months.  Expose your arms, legs but always protect your face.  Your skin pigment is a natural sunscreen, so those who are dark-skinned should stay out longer that fair-skinned people to absorb sunshine.