Exposure to bright light can help fend off winter blues. The time to start is now

As daylight diminishes group tin consciousness their temper dimming. Experts opportunity starting ray therapy successful nan autumn tin thief fend disconnected wintertime depression.

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As nan days get shorter, galore group whitethorn besides find their moods dimming. About 1 successful 20 adults person seasonal affective disorder, and millions much acquisition a milder shape of nan wintertime blues. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports connected really agleam ray from a container tin help.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: We're each guided by our circadian rhythms. But our bodies' soul clocks don't support a cleanable 24-hour cycle. So each day, nan maestro timepiece successful our encephalon needs a reset. Scientist Michael Terman explains nan cue for this reset is greeting light.

MICHAEL TERMAN: Light done nan eyes neurologically inputs this circadian timer, and it corrects it each day.

AUBREY: That's why it's bully to unfastened nan blinds aliases spell extracurricular first point successful nan morning. But arsenic nan hours of daylight shrink successful nan autumn and wintertime months, it tin beryllium adjuvant to amp up our vulnerability to ray utilizing a ray box. It's a instrumentality you plug in, beryllium successful beforehand of, and it emits agleam achromatic light.

TERMAN: When we do ray therapy successful nan morning, what we are doing is resetting that drifting circadian timepiece to synchronize pinch nan outdoor world.

AUBREY: In summation to syncing our clocks, utilizing a ray container successful nan greeting for astir 30 minutes, springiness aliases take, tin boost temper and fend disconnected depression. Dr. Dorothy Sit is simply a expert astatine Northwestern University who has studied agleam ray therapy.

DOROTHY SIT: There's conscionable been a ton of investigation that has shown that utilizing greeting ray aliases agleam ray therapy successful nan greeting tin beryllium highly adjuvant to reverse immoderate of nan symptoms of seasonal depression.

AUBREY: She points to investigation that shows agleam ray therapy is connected par pinch modular antidepression medications successful relieving symptoms. Some group do both, and nan operation tin beryllium helpful. Depending connected nan person, ray therapy tin beryllium enough. Studies show it tin commencement to trim slump symptoms wrong 1 week.

SIT: So it intends that we tin connection different forms of curen to group that would suit nan person's lifestyle, their preferences. We conscionable person much to offer.

AUBREY: She says if you're going to usage a ray box, it's important to group a routine. Use it each greeting astatine nan aforesaid time. And it tin beryllium adjuvant to commencement now successful nan autumn earlier nan darkest months group in. Some ray boxes sold online are either excessively mini aliases don't emit capable light. The Mayo Clinic says take 1 that emits 10,000 lux of light.

SIT: I deliberation agleam ray is still an underrecognized curen action and besides knowing that ray therapy intriguingly tin beryllium rather adjuvant for group who moreover have, like, milder forms.

AUBREY: A fewer signs you whitethorn beryllium susceptible to nan seasonal blues are if you're sleeping much than normal aliases craving much pasta and sweets. Dr. Jamie Zeitzer of Stanford University says it's important to admit that a deficiency of ray is not nan only trigger of seasonal depression.

JAMIE ZEITZER: So, you know, if it's nan wintertime and it's acold and snowy retired and you can't spot group arsenic overmuch because it's harder to get astir and group aren't extracurricular arsenic much, well, that tin beryllium depressing. You know, it's that benignant of societal isolation.

AUBREY: A reminder that erstwhile it comes to emotion bully successful nan coming darker months, we request ray arsenic good arsenic laughter and friendship.

Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

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