112619 Resource 95425 101017 101017 1136663447248 1136663447248 Controlled Bright light and exercise can keep you from being SAD this winter.

The lack of sunlight in the winter months often leads to seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and depression.

Have you ever experienced less motivation, more lethargy, increased appetite, weight gain, and even mild depression in the winter months? Much of this may have more to do with the amount of light your eyes are exposed to than what is going on in your life. Shorter, darker winter days and more time spent indoors during is associated with a rise in and the onset of depression. With the exception of the warm, sunny Southern California days most people spend less time outside in bright sunlight and less time exercising during the winter than during the summer months. The increased reports of depression during winter led to the naming of the seasonally related disorder as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). And that, SAD, is just what many people are when the days get colder and shorter. Numerous studies have looked into the beneficial effects of both bright light exposure and exercise in treating SAD and mild depression. In one <A href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9854277&query_hl=5&itool=pubmed_docsum">study</A>, Partonen and colleagues found that exercising in super bright light significantly reduced seasonal depression more than exercising in normal light. In another study they reported significant improvements in mood and reductions in depression with as little as 15 minutes of bright light exposure after two-weeks of treatment. In further research, exercise and bright light exposure combined outperformed either form of therapy alone. If you can't get out into the bight sunlight or the weather isn't cooperating you can purchase specific lights and light bulbs to meet your needs. A <A href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16165105&query_hl=7&itool=pubmed_docsum">study</A> reported in the journal Biological Psychology found that narrow bandwidth blue light was more effective than red light at reversing major symptoms of depression resulting from SAD. So don't let the winter months get you down. Try to get out in the sunlight for at least 15 minutes a day and combine that with a brisk walk or other form of exercise to help ward off your winter time SADness. 10 application/xml false body temperature bright light depression exercise Journal of Biological Psychology mood phototherapy seasonal affective disorder (SAD) sleepiness winter Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1) 68.5.182.218 68.5.182.218 DrEric false true false false true 95425 blog blogsite/SeniorSafety/web