November sunshine
Whilst I have noted before that November is often a dull, rather bleak month when we often spend many of our waking hours in the dark or a dusky twilight, it doesnt have to be that way, as our look this month at November 2004 in the 'weather events' section shows. Such periods of bright November days when they occur can be a real antidote to the late dawns and early evening dusks.
Remember though that without the benefit of the artificial light that we rely on, the winter must have been an even darker and altogether duller affair in days gone by. In the States they call it 'Cabin Fever'. However it can develop into something more serious, the syndrome called ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of winter depression that affects an estimated half a million people in the UK between October-March, and especially during the winter months. Symptoms generally include depression, sleepiness and a loss of appetite, (though sometimes a craving for foods high in carbohydrates), social withdrawal and difficulty concentrating and processing information. When I wrote about this disorder before here, a few years ago, a number of people suggested that I was surely making rather a lot of fuss about nothing in particular? To some extent I can see where they were coming from. If our ancestors coped without electric light or gas light, with fires candles and oil lamps why are people so affected today? Actually the answer is that people often didn't cope very well then.. there was actually quite a high degree in winter months, of what we now would understand to be dysthymia or clinical depression; it just wasnt diagnosed very well.
In fact we know now that some people have the opposite pattern, they develop seasonal affective disorder with the onset of spring or summer; this is less common but is known as summer depression. In both cases, the symptoms may start out as quite mild and become more severe as the months progress. These seasonal connections between our mood and energy levels, have been documented for centuries in fact and many people do experience lower energy levels during the winter months. It probably explains why so many ceremonies developed in the past to both celebrate and bless the coming of Spring.
The causes are still not entirely clear but it is thought that there are at least three potential culprits. The first is your circadian rhythm. This is a physiological process that helps regulate your body's internal clock — letting you know when to sleep or wake and disruption of this natural body clock may cause depression. Secondly the amount of Melatonin you have present. Some researchers suggest that the disorder may be tied this sleep related hormone that has been linked to depression. The body's production of melatonin should natually increase during the long nights of winter but may not regulate itself properly. Finally the amount of Serotonin you have. A lack of serotonin, which is a natural brain chemical (or neurotransmitter) that affects moods, may play a role. We know that reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin levels, perhaps leading to depression. In some people perhaps a combination of all three plays a role and elevates the symptoms.
We should take seasonal affective disorder seriously as it can have serious complications if left untreated. These complications can include suicidal thoughts or behavior, social withdrawal, school or work problems and potentially substance abuse of drugs and alcohol.
The use of medication, ionized-air reception and cognitive therapy can help, but another treatment that has been very successful is the use of a bright light-box, many times brighter than normal office lighting (about 10,000 lux). Sufferers find that sitting in front of the light, eyes open, for around 60 minutes a day can help alleviate or completely disperse the symptoms. I used to work with someone from Australia, more used to strong winter sunshine who had one on in the office for at least a few hours each day and from a distance it used to appear that he was surrounded by a halo of golden light!
Perhaps oddly, the simulation of dawn can also help sufferers it seems. Some studies carried out in 2001 in Seattle by the University of Washington, showed that if SAD patients were exposed to a false ‘bright dawn’ using a low level light box it could help their condition significantly.
Even for those who get by in the winter without too many ill effects however, it's probably fair to say that we look forward to the time in the late winter when the days start lengthening and the sun once again seems bright and warm, as it bathes us in it's -real- golden light.
