HappyLight fights S.A.D.

Posted by Paul Mayson on February 20, 2008

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I recently visited a client in her home office and was intrigued by something called the “HappyLight“. At first I thought she was going to pop up some x-ray films or some slides that she would want to digitize. But, it was there to help her get through the Northeast’s winter months.

Apparently, a number of folks (the manufacturer claims 10%) suffer from a lack of energy, depression, or find their motivation at record lows during the winter months. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The light is there to deliver “sunlight” without the nasty UV badness.

Being captain curious, I looked up “SAD” and it’s a fairly common thing in not only the U.S. but Ireland, Scandinavia, and Iceland. I don’t think I suffer from this, but maybe I’d be the last to know. I’ve always liked working in a dimmer space and the HappyLight’s glow hurt my eyes. I couldn’t wait to turn it off. Maybe that’s because I’m really just part mole-man.

How do you deal with the winter months? Same as the summer months? Maybe you’re a HappyLight devotee. If so, let’s hear about it!

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About S.A.D. (from Wikipedia): Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, is a mood disorder. Most SAD sufferers experience normal mental health throughout most of the year, but experience depressive symptoms in the winter. When the depressive symptoms occur in summer rather than winter, the condition is often referred to as reverse seasonal affective disorder (RSAD) and can include heightened anxiety.

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Comments

One Response to “HappyLight fights S.A.D.”

  1. Need it, want it, gotta have it « ConfessionsOfAnITGirl.com on February 20th, 2008 3:31 pm

    [...] first is from the good folks at OfficeSpacey.  I have never been diagnosed with SAD, but I get very cranky when subjected to long periods [...]

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