Decided I Have S.A.D. - How About Lights?

[fanaudical]

I have one of these (purchased at Costco for $40):

Verilux HappyLight 6000 Light Therapy for Winter Blues

I find it works quite well. I have it on my desk and work next to it for ~30 min in the morning. I didn't have any luck with OTC vitamin D at all. The light did the trick for me.

My HP 42s now no longer leaves my desk at home; it stays in the drawer with all my slide rules. HP 97's are cool.

[LWJ]

John,

I get it. I lived in Portland my entire life (less a little bit for higher education and such). Winter sucks. As a kid, it did not bother me. Either because I skied all the time or because the weather was better. I have noticed that the last three or four winters have been
"different." Nice Fall then a LONG grey Winter. No sun for MONTHS!

I started taking Vit D. I was deficient. I am better now.

I asked my Doc about S.A.D. last year or so. I believe he said that higher quality (priced) lights were the way to go. About 15-20 min in the am shining to the side, not direct on. (recollection. Don't think this is gospel) I didn't do anything about it and the Vit D seems to have helped among other things.

HOWEVER. This is the easy part of Winter. The crap part is in April or May when you haven't seen the sun in 6 months - as you know! That is when I gets to me at least. I am taking the Family to S. Cal to see Mickey Mouse soon. That should help. I went to Hawaii last year. Certainly helped. I know what you are talking about. Sunny days are like a buzz.

What I will say is this. Go to a MD. A CFL most likely won't get you fixed.

Good luck. I do think the winters are much worse than in the past. There is a reason why the Pacific NW is home to more serial killers, suicides, and MS patients. I don't think it is the good beer!

Larry

[jyl]

Alas, I have to be at my desk at 5:30 am PST (8:30 am EST) every day, unless I'm in a hotel, in which case I have to be at my laptop on the hotel room desk at 5:30 am PST. No option to go in later.

I don't mind. I put on the rain gear and get on the bike, a bit of exercise and I'm there, heart pumping and wide awake. But then I was sitting in the dark and getting tired again. Now I'm going to be bathed in light!

I do think I need to do something about that wall. Put a big bright print there, or a flat lightbox, or something.

The good thing is, I'm usually out the door by 3-4 pm. Normally it is a nice sunny ride home. But this time of year, not so much.

Going back east in March for a week. Maybe there'll be some sun.

[RWebb]

I guess this is a bad time to point out that the suicide rate in the PNW peaks in February?

[RWebb]

You no doubt have health care ins., so see your PCP and if necessary get a referral to a behavioral medicine specialist.

They can tell you exactly which light boxes work and how well.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by jyl

Alas, I have to be at my desk at 5:30 am PST (8:30 am EST)... .

"The early bird gets the worm" as my parents used to admonish...then I'd always reply: "Yeah, but the early worm gets eaten dontcha ya know" . I was always on flex-time...early years I worked "bankers hours". I'd be in by 9-9:30 (unless I was tardy)...then in 2nd half, I was in by 6ish and out by 2:30 most days...loved it. Course I was always on call 24x7x365 too and a single ring at 2 am meant I was alert and wide awake for good (like right this minute). Had a few 40+ hrs no breaks working stints too...ahh...I don't miss that crap one bit. Are you "tied" to your office and Portland? Seems as if you could do your job from anywhere. Most folks I know in IT (like I did) work from home these days.

[Hydrocket]

I have worked steady nights for the last 10+ years.

I take 5,000 IU of Vitamin D per day just to be safe.....this after a Dr's recommendation.

[herr_oberst]

John, I've used the GO-Lite for a few years now. It seems to help, but it isn't any substitute for some real live sunshine.

The original Go-Lite company was bought out by Philips a while back, so I don't know if the lights have changed significantly since I bought mine. Cosmetically they've been updated, but it looks like the same basic functionality.

[wdfifteen]

I hope you find something that works. Does it seem like a vicious circle to you? You feel to tired and unmotivated to get anything done, then you feel anxious because work is piling up, then you get depressed about so much work piled up that you'll never get it done and that makes you feel even more tired.

I didn't have SAD-like symptoms until a few years ago. An ex-employee had a prescription for special light bulbs for her office. She retired and I snagged the bulbs. I think they help. I didn't know about Vit D. I'll give that a shot. Provigil really helps - 50mg when I can't shake that stuck-in-molasses feeling.

OR, and I'm surprised no one here has mentioned it, get a hooker, some blow, cheap vodka, etc and spend a weekend in a cheap hotel, wake up Monday - your head hurts, your wallet is gone and you've got oozing pustules on your johnson. Sure, you're depressed again, but you have very good reason.

[scottmandue]

Wife is a former Portland resident (I'm a native Los Angeleno... I LOVE Portland! Would move there in a heartbeat is the weather was better... and I didn't own a house here... and a have job with a pension... but I digress)

+1 on the vitamin D and the verilux light.


Or for a reasonable fee you can fly down to Smell Lay, rent our spare room for the weekend, and nap on the porch in the sun... works for the cats.

[Crowbob]

SAD, gentlemen, falls under the diagnostic subdivision of Affective Disorders. Depression is an affective disorder.

It is good to see proaction because to be proactive requires the recognition of a problem.

Go for it, men.

Whatever works! And I mean it.

[jyl]

Did some reading here. Seems like typical light therapy treatments trade off light intensity versus duration. Examples are 10,000 lux at 12 inches for 30 minutes or 2,500 lux at 12 inches for 2 hours.

As for type of light, you're supposed to avoid too much UV light, and there is some thought that "blue light" is more effective than "daylight" bulbs, but the medical websites simply recommend a "daylight" bulb, whether fluorescent, CFL, or LED. "Daylight" meaning a "colder" color of light, around 5500 K color temperature, as contrasted with the "warm" or "soft" light of an incandescent or the CFLs designed to simulate incandescents. Other sites also recommend "full spectrum" or "grow light" bulbs.

I looked up the info for a common CFL bulb, the n:Vision 23 watt (100 watt equivalent) sold at Home Depot at $11 for a pack of 4 bulbs. Each bulb is 1600 lumens, if I assume my fixture concentrates the light into an area 5 feet x 5 feet then the light intensity is about 700 lux.

If I have six such bulbs and fixtures mounted on my monitors and pointing directly at me, that is 4,200 lux. In reality it is too annoying to have the fixtures aimed right at me - I have to work here - so I have them pointed down and I'm getting just the light bouncing off the desk, papers, etc. Let's cut the received light intensity by 2/3rd then, to 1,440 lux.

I'll try getting at least 4 hours/day exposure to that level of light. Hell, since I sit at this desk 8 hours a day, that won't be too hard.

[Crowbob]

If you listen to music all day, try turning it off except for 1-3 hours per day. You will be surprised how well one can focus without backnoise. It almost forces you to pay attention. A lot less accumulated fatigue. Even the effects of soft music can be profound.

Or, you'll fall totally asleep for unknown hours.

[RWebb]

if you have a roof garden in that building you might want to rush out there for any short sun breaks that happen

I expect to see over a dozen sun breaks between now and July...

[aigel]

^^^ lol

I think the reason there are so many brew pubs in Portland is the fact that people self-medicate. Same for coffee being so big in Seattle.

Do you drink coffee?



It seems to help the Scandinavians and the Icelanders!

G

[jyl]

Lots of brews going on, which is why my weight is unchanging . . .

I need to get energy from lights rather than from

[aigel]

Coffee? It is virtually zero calories.

One thing I can do without is sweets. I'd rather have another slice of venison ...

G

[jyl]

I was at 40 oz of coffee before 8 am. Now I'm down to 20 oz. I don't think it is bad for you, just a reaction to the ever-increasing price of coffee at the place downstairs. Also all the cute girls who used to work there left and were replaced by guys.

[Tobra]

How much exercise do you get and how well do you sleep?

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by Tobra

How much exercise do you get and how well do you sleep?

Good point. I was also going to suggest melatonin to help keep the circadian rhythm working properly...