In the days when I worked in a big corporate open-plan office - the kind with cubicles like Dilbert, there was always a fight for the seats by the windows despite the view being nothing but concrete. We all want more natural light with or without SAD. Now scientists have found that it helps are brains stay more alert too. No surprises there then.

“A team of scientists in Britain and Belgium have found that sitting in bright light for 21 minutes in the morning significantly increases your alertness.”

Brilliant discovery - Health - Times Online

technorati tags:SAD, window, light, seasonal+affective+disorder

Recent research at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development suggests that babies who are denied access to natural light (such as those who are premature and subject to artificial lighting in hospital for some time) may experience an interference in the development of their biological clock.

The research found that constant light prevented the development of the biological clock in baby mice.

While lighting is important for the staff working overnight in hospitals, thsi report suggests that the effects on both nurses and patients needs to be studied more.

Vanderbilt News Service

technorati tags:Light+exposure, SAD, Babies, Biological+Clock

An article in the American Journal of Psychiatry (May 2006) The Can-SAD study: A randomized Controlled Trial of the Effectiveness of light Therapy and Fluoxetine in Patients with Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder describes a study which shows that both Light Therapy and Fluoxetine (an anti-depressant drug) are equally as effective for dealing with the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

There were 96 participants in the study all with diagnosed Seasonal Effective disorder and the study was carried out over 3 winters.

Separate studies have been done in the past but few have compared results in the same study.

The results are good news for patients who might prefer one type of treatment over another.

Although the effectiveness of therapy with white light has proven very effective for seasonal affective disorder, research continues into the effect of different types of light on our body and hormonal systems.

There are cells in our eyes called ganglions which have little to do with seeing, but send signals to our brain and help regulate our systems. A few hundred of these ganglion cells contain a light-sensitive protein called melanopsin, that helps convert light into an electrochemical signal which eventually reaches the pineal gland, in the centre of the brain.

Research at Jefferson University has shown that staring at a blue light for 90 minutes for example causes the pineal gland to stop production of melatonin. Blue light it seems helps keep us alert and some hospitals use this in nurses stations to stop medical staff feeling sleepy through the night while using more red/yellow based light in patient areas.
For more information see Eye Cells that don’t see, but Regulate

According to a recent report on a study by the Black Dog Institute (published in the Journal of Affective Disorders) chocolate doesn’t help fight depression.And bad news for those who like to think of chocolate as a comfort food it may very well make you feel worse after eating it by actually prolonging your depression.

Although the momentary indulgence and the whole emotional feeling linked to eating chocolate may make you feel good the pleasure lasts only as long as the chocolate stays in your mouth.

You can read the full report Mood states effect of chocolate or see this article Is chocolate an anti-depressant for a good summarised version.

Eating fast-release carbohydrates like chocolate, sweets and cake are a typical symptom of Seasonal Affective Disorder. This is a form of subconscious self-medication - an attempt to raise low Serotonin levels in the brain - yet eating this type of food generally sets up a craving for more resulting in the typical weight gain experienced by SAD sufferers in winter.

If you want to avoid the whole cycle, it’s better to go for slow release carbohydrates and keep off the chocolate - at least as much as you can!