#Seasonal Affective Disorder

#Seasonal Affective Disorder

When should I use my bright light therapy lamp? You should use it every morning (as soon as possible after waking up) during the months when you experience SAD symptoms. It is not advised to use a bright light therapy lamp in the afternoon or evening, as it can mess with your circadian rhythm/sleep cycle. You should try to use it for 20-30 minutes each day.

The winter blues are very real. The lack of light and cold temperatures can pull you into a slump-but practicing yoga can help you feel more like yourself and help you overcome some of the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. All it takes is a willingness to commit to some movement, even-or especially-when you're feeling a bit blah. This grounding morning flow helps you overcome winter sluggishness with some breath-guided stretching and slow activation.

Living in a place where it's cold and dark for several months at a time can take a toll on even the toughest person. During Alaska winters, I'd go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Summers bring almost 24 hours of daylight, but that doesn't necessarily mean sunshine, as Alaskan summers can also be quite rainy. The light made sleep extremely difficult, too.

Your article (Looking forward to an extra hour in bed on Sunday? Time to thank a farsighted builder from Kent, 25 October) misses the main point for many people. The extra hour of darkness in the afternoons outweighs the extra morning hour of light. Psychologically, you can deal with darker mornings when you know it's going to get light later, whereas those of us with seasonal affective disorder feel miserable at the prospect of endless hours of darkness from mid-afternoon onwards. Paul Highfield Sheffield

My therapist tells me it is seasonal memory. I find it a bit strange, since in the southern hemisphere where I now live, there are no cherry blossoms blooming as they are now in Herbert Park.