tions when used in combination with professional treatment.

Let the sun shine

For some people, chasing away the winter blues is as simple as spending more time outdoors. Getting light early in the morning generally provides the best results, but exposure to natural sunlight at any time of day—even on a cloudy, rainy, or snowy day—is likely to provide some benefit. You need not, and should not, look directly at the sun. Consult your doctor before spending more time outdoors if you take a drug or have a medical condition that causes heightened photosensi-tivity. It helps to emphasize the difference between night and day by dimming room lights and avoiding TV and computer screens before bedtime and by sleeping in a darkened room.

If exposure to natural daylight doesn’t provide enough relief, there are two illumination devices you might want to consider. The first is a light box, a specially constructed desktop device that uses a bank of fluorescent lights to deliver a calibrated amount of light at the correct height, angle, distance, and intensity to provide the maximum benefit. Properly administered, bright light therapy from a light box is a powerful intervention that can alleviate both seasonal and nonseasonal depression, potentially providing as much benefit as antidepressant medicines but usually with fewer and less troublesome side effects.

Although light boxes can be purchased without a doctor’s prescription, it’s best to obtain professional guidance when starting bright light therapy, because it can be harmful to people with certain psychiatric conditions and some eye diseases, including diabetic retinopathy. In addition, if used incorrectly, bright light treatment can make things worse by causing insomnia, agitation, or other problems. If a light

box is deemed inappropriate, another lighting device—the dawn simulator—may be a promising alternative. As the name suggests, this device provides light that gradually brightens to simulate the rising of the sun; it is normally used when waking up. For more information on both devices, visit www.cet.org.

Winter blues expert and psychiatrist Dr. Norman Rosenthal observes that SAD sufferers tend to produce a surplus of insulin during the winter months; this excessive insulin production “appears to subside” with bright light therapy and with the advent of summer. You should therefore closely monitor your blood glucose levels and insulin doses when either starting

For some people,
chasing away the
winter blues is
as simple as
spending more
time outdoors.

or stopping bright light therapy. Be sure to tell your primary-care doctor or endocrinologist about your bright-light therapy, even if it is being supervised by another care provider such as a professional counselor.

Just as extra light can help people with winter blues, restricting light exposure—by spending more time indoors and using special blue-blocking glasses—may benefit those with summer SAD. (See www.cet.org for information on blue-blocking glasses.) In addition, the information in the following sections can help improve your mood regardless of the season.

Get moving

You probably already know that
exercise benefits people with dia-
betes by improving the body’s sensi-
tivity to insulin, whether it is pro-
duced by the pancreas or injected.
But physical activity can also help
chase away the winter blues.
Numerous studies confirm what
runners have long maintained: that
vigorous exercise makes you feel
better. Even if you never work out
long or hard enough to get that
“runner’s high,” modest physical
activity is likely to leave you feeling
more energetic and content. Good
exercise choices may include fast
walking or jogging, bicycling, aero-
bics, or vigorous yoga. For some
people, making exercise a social
activity by doing it with a partner or
attending a class may lead to an
even greater mood-lifting benefit.