Monday, January 16, 2012

Does Winter weather bring you down?

When the Winter months come around do you feel sluggish, tired, and moody?  If so, you are not alone! MANY people experience loss of energy, weight gain, a "heavy" leaden feeling in arms and legs, and oversleeping during the less sunny months of the year. In the world of medicine, these are symptoms of The Winter Blues aka Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a common type of depression that occurs at the same time, every year.

It is thought that the lack sunlight during the late Fall, Winter, and early Spring may disrupt your body's internal clock, called Circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms tell your body when you should be awake or asleep and this disruption may lead to the symptoms of the Winter Blues. Disruption of the body's circadian rhythms is also linked to the symptoms of jet-lag, night shift work, and seasonal time changes.

Even if you do not experience these symptoms, everyone can benefit from the mood and energy boosting effects of PHOTOTHERAPY! Phototherapy is a natural and effective way to get your daily dose of SUNSHINE and boost your body's sense of well being!  UV-free lights with high LUX levels emit natural-spectrum daylight to help alleviate all the symptoms associated with the disruption of circadian rhythms. Check out these therapeutic lights by Verilux below!  (I especially love the Rise and Shine alarm clock light!)


I am a HUGE-FAN of homeopathic and alternative medicine, so when I learn about things like phototherapy, I tend to get a little excited, not to mention that the concept just makes sense! I have found the Verilux Phototherapy lights are the highest quality when compared to other brands. All you need is 30-60 minutes of exposure a couple times per week!

Here is an excellent source for information: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195

Enjoy!

Ross


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2 comments:

  1. HarryJanuary 16, 2012 at 11:36 PM

    I'm a fan of alternative medicine as well, but homeopathic medicine in particular has no scientific backing behind it. You should probably do a bit more reading on the subject. The only homeopathic remedies that work contain active ingredients in an amount that can be detected by the human body, which goes against how homeopathy is supposed to work (in theory). For somebody who appreciates scientific literature to back claims, this is a surprising way to start a blog post.

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  2. RossJanuary 17, 2012 at 1:12 PM

    That is not true. I am not declaring Phototherapy as EITHER homeopathic or alternative medicine. As a matter of fact, Phototherapy is included as a treatment in conventional medicine. What I AM saying is that, I appreciate the concept of homeopathic and alternative medicine and the less mainstream (i.e. non-pharmaceutical) treatments for common ailments. Phototherapy is backed by extensive research that proves its effectiveness in treating seasonal depression and synchronizing circadian rhythms. That's all.

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