Getting Through the Dark

When those of us who relish the warmth and light of summer days, and even the more oblique waning light days of autumn, feel the sunset after daylight savings time disappears and we move our clocks back one hour, some of us can get depressed. It is hard to look ahead almost three months to when each day will get lighter a trickle of time at a time. There’s even a name and a treatment for those with (SAD) seasonal affective disorder. Research indicates that Light Box Therapy for those sitting near a light box during morning hours, resets a disordered circadian rhythm resulting in an improved mood. It even suggests that patients hospitalized for depression or bipolar disorder in rooms facing southeast which gets the most light were discharged an average of 30 days earlier than those facing other directions. So if getting dark earlier leaves you counting the days till winter solstice, find some light and soak it in. Music can help too; think Gloria Estefan’s COMING OUT OF THE DARK.