Pacific bases shine a light on Seasonal Affective Disorder

[unhappycamper]

Tech. Sgt. Richard Goetz of the 35th Medical Group gets light therapy at Misawa Air Base’s Health and Wellness Center in northern Japan. The new health program, available at Misawa and at Osan Air Base in South Korea, helps alleviate symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that typically develops during winter months.


Pacific bases shine a light on Seasonal Affective Disorder
By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, December 1, 2007


MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — It’s often called the “wintertime blues.”

As the days get shorter and skies turn dreary, moods can sour.

Some U.S. military bases in the Pacific are combating what’s also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, with a bright idea.

The Health and Wellness Center at Misawa now offers light therapy designed to mimic the sun’s rays without the harmful ultraviolet exposure.

People sit in a massage chair facing a 10,000-lux light box, beginning with 30 minutes of exposure per day.

“It’s giving you daylight,” said Capt. Jennifer Bradley, 35th Medical Group Health Promotion Flight commander, noting that morning-time exposure is optimal.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50630

[Eurobabe]

1. Interesting, now if they could only figure out a therapy for

reverse SADD. It's less common, more prevalent in left handers, and strikes us in the spring. I think it has more to do with heat because my last 2 summers in Europe have been much better (cooler temps, less sunlight)

SADD is real, it's a normal reaction because the body produces less thyroid hormone in the fall. Although not everyone gets 'blue' from it, but some do.