Seasonal affective disorder can make those long winter nights seem endless, but there are a number of simple solutions
THE BUDGET was grim. The summer was non-existent and now the evenings are getting darker. Many of us are already beginning to feel a bit flatter, while those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (Sad) are preparing to go into a downward slide.
It would seem there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
But, hey, all is not lost. According to the experts, specially produced light boxes and lamps which simulate sunlight can help those of us who feel down during the winter months cope with the blues.
God complexes aside, we can now create our own sunlight in the home.
Dr Harry Barry is a Drogheda-based GP and author of Flagging the Problem: A New Approach to Mental Health, which is published by Liberties Press. He believes one of the simplest ways to cure Sad, the winter-time illness, is to use a dawn simulator lamp. They are available in Ireland and can be bought over the counter.
He himself uses a lamp like this, although he does not suffer from any depressive illness. "I find when I use it I wake up much fresher and more alert," he says.
You can buy "dawn simulators" in the shape of little bed lamps, which are just like a normal lamp and can be set to come on in the morning. They are very good, particularly for people getting up early who are exposed a lot to darkness, he adds.
Normal indoor light is artificial light and has a very narrow spectrum, says Dr Barry. "When we go out into the daylight we get the full spectrum of light shining from the sky."
A dawn simulator has the same kind of spectrum as normal daylight. "You put it on, you set it to come on about a half an hour before you get up, and it simulates the sun rising. It fools the body."
As the person sleeps, they will notice themselves gradually coming awake as the light increases. If they do this continually they start to feel much better.
"It encourages their serotonin system to switch on earlier. And it gives them this morning boost which is found to be very helpful."
Sad is a specific genetic serotonin defect and Barry says all of us will get a little flatter in the winter because our serotonin system shrinks during the darker months.
Prof Patricia Casey, consultant psychiatrist at the Mater Hospital, says Sad can be so severe that people take to bed for the winter months, and almost hibernate.
She says it can be extremely incapacitating and lead to complete social withdrawal.
Casey has had some experience of the positive benefits of the light box combined with medication.
There is a wide range of specialised light-therapy lamps and boxes on the market, including Northern Light Technologies' SADelite, the Carribbean Sun Box and the portable FeelBright Lite.
There's also the Verilux Rise and Shine bedside lamp, which is recommended by Barry in his book.
In some of the newest light-therapy boxes, a narrow-spectrum blue light is given off. This has a shorter wavelength, which some research shows is more effective at reducing Sad symptoms.
The average domestic or office lighting emits an intensity of 200-500 lux, but the minimum dose necessary to treat Sad is 2,500 lux, according to the UK-based Seasonal Affective Disorder Association (Sada). Some light boxes emit a higher intensity of light, up to 10,000 lux, which can cut treatment time down to half an hour a day, according to Sada. The intensity of a bright summer day can be 100,000 lux, says the association. It receives around 1,000 enquiries a week during an average winter.
Sada recommends trying out a product before buying it and points out that several companies offer a home trial or a hire scheme.
Sad can begin at any age, most commonly between 18 and 30. More people develop it before the age of 21 than after. It's thought that twice as many women than men have Sad and children can also have it.
In reality there is only one permanent cure for Sad, and that is to live near the equator.
It is rare to find people with symptoms of Sad living within 30 degrees of the equator, where daylight hours are long and extremely bright.
But it can affect people anywhere else in the northern and southern hemispheres - from Scandinavia in the north, throughout Europe, in most of North America and North Asia, and as far as the southern parts of Australia and South America.
It is estimated that around 10 per cent of the population of Northern Europe suffers milder symptoms of Sad, while about 2 per cent suffer very badly. Some people even get Sad in summer, during dull periods.
Failing not being able to live near the Equator, you can think about taking a holiday in sunny places during the winter. The Canary Islands and southern Spain are good options for a blast of sun.
Or you could go skiing and benefit from the extra brightness of light reflected off the snow.