Thursday, January 04, 2007

Dawn simulator curbs wintertime blues

Reuters Photo: Two men watch the sunrise in the Solomon Islands, April 21, 2006. For people who... First, I had thought the whole wintertime blues was only something of my own imagination. I always thought of the reason why I get so depressed during winter, especially January and February. And apparently it is true. Anyway, they have some kind of a cure, which is called Dawn simulator. There is something even called SAD - seasonal affective disorder.

Anyway I usually turn on the lights when I wake up, but this isn't really working anymore, because the curtains on my balcony are closed and I don't get any sun-light in the morning, this is probably why I can't get out of bed.

"Dawn simulation and negative air ionization are two naturalistic, non-pharmaceutical environmental enhancements now verified superior to placebo and remarkably effective in the treatment of winter depression," Dr. Michael Terman told Reuters Health.

[...]

With bright light therapy, SAD sufferers sit at a bright light box for 30 minutes at breakfast time. Dawn simulation and negative air ionization are more convenient, being delivered automatically and innocuously during the final hours of sleep by an apparatus placed next to the bed.

[...]

Although the sunrise pulse treatment was "therapeutically active" in some patients, it led to the persistence, emergence and exacerbation of depressive symptoms, making it an "unfavorable option," the Termans write.

Click here to read full article.

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