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As the northern latitudes plunge ever further into darkness, the black dog draws near. Oh joy! It's S.A.D. time again!
For the last few years, I've been taking vitamin D supplements through the winter and find them a big help (I now just get mildly dispirited and somewhat grouchy whereas I used to be plunged into absolute despair) but I'm a tad more skeptical about some of the other remedies on offer.
Has anyone had any experience with light boxes, daylight alarm clocks and the like?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Two rather interesting articles, thank you.
I shall begin work on my electronic trousers quite shortly. Don't be surprised if you hear a very load yelp at some point - I'm not very good at hardware problems!
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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I'm in the UK, no point in asking me, its SAD here all the time.
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PeejayAdams wrote: Has anyone had any experience with light boxes, daylight alarm clocks and the like?
Yes, I got some full spectrum florescent lights a few years ago that worked like a charm (yes, they worked like a light, but I mean with my SAD issues.)
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Somehow, I'm inclined to suspect that more general ambient lighting solutions are going to be more effective than half-hour blasts from a light box.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Chocolate fixes everything. It is the duct-tape of medicine.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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I use a light timer as my primary alarm clock. The light has a couple of compact fluorescents in it. They switch on a little more abruptly than I'd like, but at least they don't come on at full brightness, taking a few minutes to ramp up to full as they warm up. I skipped the the daylight alarm clocks because all the ones I could find had pretty feeble lighting, and I found that on some mornings, I need something a bit brighter than they could possibly get to get me alert. Its positioned so I can roll over and stare directly into the light for those mornings when I'm especially groggy. I got one of the fancy digital timers so I can program it for different hours on different days -- that way it never wakes me up on the weekends. For a lot of years, I set an audible alarm clock to go off 5 minutes before the lights did, that way, the abrupt switching on of the light didn't shock me because I'd already be awake.
At one time, I tried the lightbox thing, and while it helped, it was inconvenient for me since I would be stuck where it was located, and it didn't help me wake up, which is the part I find the hardest.
One of the other engineers I used to work with had light wings that attached to the sides of her monitor. I've considered something like those.
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I've been tempted by the daylight alarm approach (I don't think I'd mind it not being particularly bright), though I do wonder if it would get me overly used to waking up when it gets light, which could be a pain in the summer. That said, I tend to wake up a few times in the night anyway - so maybe not such a big problem.
Your colleague's wings sound rather distracting, to be honest, but maybe the article that Lopitir posted suggests that a lamp below the desk (assuming that a little flesh can be bared) might be a way to go.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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There's room darkening shades and curtains you can get to keep the dawn light out during summer.
Like I said, the light wasn't what I was using to wake up, only what I was using to stay awake and become alert enough to function -- the audible alarm is what woke me up. If I slept through the audible alarm, then the abrupt turning on of the light timer would shock me awake. Not the most pleasant way to wake up, but obviously, I needed a bit more prodding that morning. I found that if the light ramped up slowly like dawn does, and there was no audible alarm clock to wake me up first, then the light didn't wake me up. This way, I could get up at the same time every morning whether dawn was two hours before, or an hour after, when I needed to get up.
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every day right after I wake up, before everything else, 10 minutes intense physical exercise. Same thing in the evening. Computer nerds don't use their muscles enough. That's about it.
modified 20-Oct-19 21:02pm.
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Wow I'm over 60 and I've never heard of SAD, it must be one of those new fangled disorders that have only acquired a name in the last decade and I've been living on the equator for that time, no seasons.
However I worked in London for a couple of years, get up in the dark, get home in the dark and have lunch in the insipid sunshine they have in winter, didn't make me depressed though.
I have sympathy for anyone suffering depression but I don't understand it.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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In the immortal words of Mr. Marley: "Them who know it, feel it."
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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A few years ago I one day came home from work, sunk down in my recliner and loudly cursed the darkness. Tben I decided to lit a candle... I went out to buy two of these floor standing "mother and child" lamps, with a 300 watt halogen bulb in in a ceiling directed reflector (the ceiling definitely should be white!) and 50 watt halogen line on a flexible arm. With a total of 700 watts of halogen light, there wasn't much darkness left to curse 
My mood changed completely from one day to the other: Coming in from the dusk outside into the bright light, it was like going into a summer! Later, I added a lot more light in my kitchen, in the entrance and bathroom. I have ceiling mounted halogen reflector bulb light to light up my bookshelves and cupboards. Now the dark season doesn't bother me at all.
I do have friends who feel blinded by all my light, so when I have guests, I often reduce the light (all those halogen lights are adjustable). Some people want the "cozyness" of the darkness and shade when they move indoors, in particular those from southern countries. In my everyday life, I crank the light all the way up as soon as I come home.
700 W of halogen light in a living room (plus the extra for the bookshelves and cupboards) draws some electricity. Compared to other countries, we have cheap electric power: All costs and fees typically adds up to 10 US cents per kWh. Keeping my living room lit is worth 7 cents/hour! Also,
here at 63 degrees north (the polar circle is at 66 degrees), at winter time you need heating for your house as well as light, and those 700 W ends up as heat. (Sure enough: Most of the heat is directly underneath the ceiling, but with bedrooms on 2nd floor the heat dissipation certainly comes to use.
And then we should think of what we get in return for that dark winter! I've got a T-shirt with the text "North Norway summer - the greatest day of the year".
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I think 700W of light would drive me batty, but I must admit that I probably do underlight my house - I'll certainly try a slightly less radical upgrade.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Google (US) for "light visor for seasonal affective disorder" brings up a few different products. Portable vs. a fixed light location.
There is a great "Northern Exposure" episode where the local doctor hands out light visors to fend off SAD.
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I used to be an avid follower of Northern Exposure and yes, I remember the episode in question and being a little surprised when the visors came out - I was rather expecting a slightly more low-tech Shamanic solution to emerge.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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I have a "blue" led light and I gave one to my father; who's partially disabled.
I'm a "night person", but others find the light "energizing". Even the dog is attracted.
You only have to catch the light out of the corner of your eye for 10-20 minutes for it to have its effect.
Monitors are now being marketed with "less blue light" (so they are less "energizing"). Yawn.
"(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then".
― Blaise Pascal
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It seems to be that blue light is increasingly regarded as the most relevant bit of the spectrum.
I do get the "less blue == less likely to be kept up all night by looking at a screen" argument but less blue has to be a bad thing for many of us and I hope it doesn't become a default option.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Today morning I think I saw my entire life in a flash when I realize I am going to get into massive accident.
Was in a middle of 3 lane autobahn driving at average speed of 140 Km/h and tad higher speed cars in left lane ( not many ). As it happened a massive truck tried to join the right most lane from another exit. He did not realize a small mini cooper in the right most lane and just entered anyway. At half way stage both realized and then started the chain reaction.
1. Mini came into my lane suddenly
2. I had no time to apply brake without hitting him. I saw a car (red) little farther away in left lane so changed to that lane .
3. Just realized Red was really cruising at almost 250 + Km/h and he just came right behind me but he noticed the switch I guess and so he turned to middle lane to avoid me but his speed was too high and so need more space and indicated he needs to come back to his lane and so I moved out giving him way and cooper moved out to service lane to give me space before he joined in.
3. Other cars who were speeding behind us realized the whole mess and were zig sagging each lane trying to avoid each other. I counted atleast 7 to 8 cars maneuvering each other and lane jumping in a controlled mad way to avoid collision.
Finally after 2 minutes of chaos with no one stopping the car just switched back to their respective speed and lane and drove away.
cheers,
Super
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Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
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Must be the weather or a full moon, something like that. On the way to work I had three idiots who wanted to change lanes while I was driving besides them. Two of them right after one another. The third one was so furious that I dared to be in his way that he came after me with a very safe distance of 30 cm, according to the rear proximity alert.
My old car was hit by a truck a few weeks ago. I would have gotten a little angry if that sort of idiots now had beaten up its replacement which I got just last week.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
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CodeWraith wrote: very safe distance of 30 cm, according to the rear proximity alert.
So glad you did not slow down to test his braking system.
cheers,
Super
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Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
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But sometimes you really wish for one of these old fashioned Land Rovers with a big steel bar where the bumper is on normal cars...
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The real trick is to just feather the brake pedal, turns on the brake lights and will scare the crap out of a tailgater.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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