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Posts Tagged ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’

SAD People for the elimination of Standard Time

November 2nd, 2009

Want to join my crusade? I say down with Standard Time! I want my Daylight Savings Time back! Do you hate changing the clocks fall and spring? Concerned about the confusion, missed appointments, sleepiness, and increase in traffic accidents that happen in the week following a time change? Or do you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) like me, and get depressed as the days shorten and the dark closes in?

The whole thing is confusing. Apparently the original idea was to save energy (candles and gas light) in the Summer by shifting an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. For years I thought it was the other way around, that the Daylight Saving referred to the winter time when it is less dark in the morning, so that presumably the farmers can milk the cows without too many candles. But no, Daylight Savings is Summer time, and that dark dreary depressing time of year when it’s pitch dark by 6:00 p.m. is called “Standard Time.” Well I have to say I don’t like their standard! My standard is to have the light in the evening when we can use it! Sorry farmers, but it’s dark when you get up to do those chores anyway. I know it’s hard to get up in the dark, but I don’t want to waste my daylight sleeping through it.

I have a very hard time with this week of the year.  It’s like having jet-lag without going anywhere. I feel groggy and confused, and I get very blue when the sun goes down. I do get used to it, but it’s the beginning of 4 months of coping with darkness, until February when the day again lengthens enough that it feels like there is some hope left in life, somewhere.

As a Migraineur I am troubled by bright sunlight, though I can generally deal with it by wearing a hat and sunglasses and seeking the shade when outdoors. But I need the sun to feel okay emotionally – dark days make me sluggish, sleepy and sad. Yes I can get a light box and spend some time each day soaking up brightness. It’s not that there aren’t compensations. I just want Daylight Savings Time all year round. Endless Summer? Kind of. Who’s with me?

– Megan

Tags: Daylight Savings Time, Seasonal Affective Disorder, time change
Posted in Rant | Comments (2)

Don’t be SAD – Winter’s Halfway Over

February 4th, 2009

First of all, I want to say that Groundhog Day makes me a little nuts. When I was a kid we lived in an old farmhouse beside a field and there was a groundhog in the middle of that field whom we called Mr. Wiggles. (Anyone my age may remember the jello commercials.) Now I am not doing groundhog research here today and I can’t tell you whether groundhogs are true hibernators or not, but I can tell you Mr. Wiggles never, ever, came out of his hole on Groundhog Day, come sun, snow, rain, or shadow, not for hell or high water.

Now you can talk all you like about Punxsatawney Phil, but first of all, no-one ever heard of him when I was a kid, and secondly, how is some groundhog in Punxsatawney, Pa, going to predict winter for the rest of us all over the place?  I mean, if there’s a cloud over Phil, early spring right there where Phil is, and it’s sunny 17 feet away, then 17 feet away there’s going to be 6 more weeks of winter? Puh-leez! Thirdly, they actually reach into a box and pull Phil out and make a prognostication as to whether he saw his shadow or not!  I mean, how bogus is that? And lastly, and here’s the kicker, February 2nd, Groundhog Day, is the exact half-way point of winter!  So no matter what the groundhog does or does not do, Phil, Mr. Wiggles, or your own local groundhog, on February 2nd you have 6.5 more weeks of winter! Yes, sometimes it gets warm earlier, and sometimes it snows in the spring, and it’s different depending on where you live and so on.

Sorry, I just had to go there. I was born on February 4th, that’s right, that would be Today, two days after Groundhog Day, and I’ve been hearing those groundhog jokes all my life! But here’s the good news about February 2nd (and the other good news about February 4th) – it’s half-way through winter!

By the beginning of February, the days (here in the Northern Hemisphere) are as long as they are in late October. I can’t say I’ve ever been specifically diagnosed with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but I’ve read about it and it sounds like what I experience when the days are shorter. I am more fatigued, depressed, get sick more easily, get more Migraines. Of course, being indoors in a heated house also has its part – dealing with dry, recirculated air.

Who else deals with this? I use a number of strategies to make it a better winter for myself. I’ll share the ones that have helped me but I’d love to hear from any of you who have others.

Has anyone used one of those light boxes they prescribe to give you exposure to more daylight-type light in the house? I haven’t, but I’ve used full-spectrum light-bulbs (not fluorescent!) and I find they help me. Here are some of my tricks:

• Turn on a lot of lights in the house between 4 pm and about 8 pm – this can be a problem for my Migraines, but I try to use gentle shaded lamps rather than overheads.
• Spend time taking care of house-plants just about every day.
• Get a bunch of flower bulbs to force every few weeks so I can have something blooming in the house every few weeks throughout the winter.
• Get outdoors between 11 and 2 for 20 minutes if at all possible. If it’s too cold to be out for 20 minutes, do 2 – 10 minute periods or 4 – 5 minute periods.
• Open windows and air the house out for about an hour once a week if possible. If it’s above about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, I think it’s possible. Obviously don’t do it if you’re sick or it’s a blizzard out or anything like that.
• Use humidifiers and get something to measure the indoor humidity – it should be 35 – 55% to be healthy.

There are reasons why our ancestors held celebrations in the winter to remind them that light, warmth and life would return to the earth. Groundhog Day actually falls on the date of one such ancient celebration –  Candlemas. I too rejoice in the returning of the sun! But I’m keeping the warm stuff out for 6 more weeks of winter.

– Megan

Groundhog image courtesy of Matt MacGillivray; paper whites image courtesy of Bethany L. King.

Tags: Candlemas, Groundhog Day, migraine, Punxsatawney Phil, Seasonal Affective Disorder
Posted in Managing, Rant, Tips & Techniques | Comments (0)