Lack of Light and Seasonal Depression – Whats the Link? From the Harvard Health Letter
To: NATIONAL EDITORS
Contact: Christine Junge of Harvard Health Publications, +1-617- 432-4717, Christine_Junge@hms.harvard.edu
BOSTON, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — People troubled by depression usually experience their dark moods in an on-again, off- again fashion. In that respect, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) differs only in that the oscillations follow a seasonal schedule, with the depression usually starting in the fall and lasting through the spring. Lack of light is often blamed for SAD, but just how darker days cause depression in SAD sufferers is still in question, reports the January 2008 issue of the Harvard Health Letter.
Experts debate whether it has been proved that lack of sunlight in winter triggers SAD, but theres certainly circumstantial evidence to support the connection. How might lack of light cause depression? The Harvard Health Letterdiscusses three theories:
1. The root cause may be insensitivity to light. Most of us go
through winter on a relatively even keel because exposure to
indoor lighting helps offset the lack of natural light, but
indoor light may be too weak for SAD sufferers.
2. There are neural pathways from the eyes retinas to parts of
the brain that help put many of our physiological processes
on a 24-hour cycle. Lack of light may put people with SAD out
of phase with their biological clocks: awake and active when
their internal timers want them snug in bed.
3. A lack of light, or insensitivity to it, may disrupt
brain processes influenced by serotonin and dopamine, brain
chemicals that play a role in mood.
Light therapy, which involves sitting in front of a bright light for a short time each day, helps some people who suffer from SAD. But antidepressant medications may work just as well, says the Harvard Health Letter.
Also in this issue:
— Treating the common cold
— Illegal use of human growth hormone
— Types of vitamin E
— Treating Bells palsy
— Low-carb diet and mood
— By the way, doctor: Warfarin after illness
TheHarvard Health Letteris available from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of Harvard Medical School, for $28 per year. Subscribe at http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthor by calling 1-877-649-9457 (toll free).
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SOURCE Harvard Health Letter
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