You Make Me Happy When Skies Are Gray

Have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, especially in the winter? Find yourself eating more and gaining weight? Feel tired during the day? Get cranky in the cold? Difficulties concentrating? Chances are you might be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Fear not: University Health Services (UHS) has the answer: a light box to bring you year-round sunshine.

SAD is a form of depression that commonly occurs in the fall and winter months, and subsides when the days get longer. According to Dr. Alfred Lewy, a chronobiologist from Oregon Health Services who was the first person to research SAD, “it’s like having jet lag for several months.” The disorder occurs when circadian rhythms get out of sync with the decreased amount of daylight during the winter. However, unlike jet lag, SAD doesn’t fix itself over time. SAD can last all winter, with the dark mornings leaving the body physically “asleep” all day without the natural pick-me-up of sunlight.

SAD afflicts five to 20 percent of the population, and is five times more common among females than males. Unsurprisingly, it’s more common in the North, where days are shorter. Confirming the popular mythology surrounding the affliction, doctors find that students who hail from warmer regions might show signs of SAD their first winter in northerly Cambridge.

To treat SAD, Lewy and his colleagues advocate light therapy. Their research indicated that patients who were exposed to artificial sunlight right after they woke up were able to push their circadian rhythms earlier, allowing them to overcome the effects of SAD without the need for anti-depressants.

Ever mindful, UHS offers light boxes to students who are diagnosed with SAD. “I think it’s important for people to be aware of SAD, and how to counteract it,” says Patti Lewis, a UHS employee who has offered light boxes to three students, none of whom took her up on her offer. The goal of the program is to introduce students to light boxes by allowing them to borrow one for a week to determine if it makes them feel better. UHS also offers students information about how to buy their own light boxes, if they decide to. Prices run up to $450, but it is possible to acquire one online at half the cost.

Not ready to shell out several hundred bucks? Well, there is one tried and true method of beating SAD without emptying your wallet. “If you’re getting up after dawn and getting out right away, you shouldn’t have winter depression,” Lewy says.