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As the days get shorter, many people may also find their moods dimming. About 1 in 20 adults have seasonal affective disorder, and millions more experience a milder form of the winter blues. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports on how bright light from a box can help.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: We're all guided by our circadian rhythms. But our bodies' internal clocks don't keep a perfect 24-hour cycle. So each day, the master clock in our brain needs a reset. Scientist Michael Terman explains the cue for this reset is morning light.
MICHAEL TERMAN: Light through the eyes neurologically inputs this circadian timer, and it corrects it every day.
AUBREY: That's why it's good to open the blinds or go outside first thing in the morning. But as the hours of daylight shrink in the fall and winter months, it can be helpful to amp up our exposure to light using a light box. It's a device you plug in, sit in front of, and it emits bright white light.
TERMAN: When we do light therapy in the morning, what we are doing is resetting that drifting circadian clock to synchronize with the outdoor world.
AUBREY: In addition to syncing our clocks, using a light box in the morning for about 30 minutes, give or take, can boost mood and fend off depression. Dr. Dorothy Sit is a physician at Northwestern University who has studied bright light therapy.
DOROTHY SIT: There's just been a ton of research that has shown that using morning light or bright light therapy in the morning can be extremely helpful to reverse some of the symptoms of seasonal depression.
AUBREY: She points to research that shows bright light therapy is on par with standard antidepression medications in relieving symptoms. Some people do both, and the combination can be helpful. Depending on the person, light therapy can be enough. Studies show it can start to reduce depression symptoms within one week.
SIT: So it means that we can offer different forms of treatment to people that would suit the person's lifestyle, their preferences. We just have more to offer.
AUBREY: She says if you're going to use a light box, it's important to set a routine. Use it every morning at the same time. And it can be helpful to start now in the fall before the darkest months set in. Some light boxes sold online are either too small or don't emit enough light. The Mayo Clinic says choose one that emits 10,000 lux of light.
SIT: I think bright light is still an underrecognized treatment option and also knowing that light therapy intriguingly can be quite helpful for people who even have, like, milder forms.
AUBREY: A few signs you may be vulnerable to the seasonal blues are if you're sleeping more than normal or craving more pasta and sweets. Dr. Jamie Zeitzer of Stanford University says it's important to recognize that a lack of light is not the only trigger of seasonal depression.
JAMIE ZEITZER: So, you know, if it's the wintertime and it's cold and snowy out and you can't see people as much because it's harder to get around and people aren't outside as much, well, that can be depressing. You know, it's that kind of social isolation.
AUBREY: A reminder that when it comes to feeling good in the coming darker months, we need light as well as laughter and friendship.
Allison Aubrey, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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