A ray of light in the winter gloom

EVERY winter hundreds of people from the North-East head for the Med in search of winter sunshine. The growth of winter sun holidays and cheap flights has fuelled our ability to stick two fingers up to frost and snow and migrate like so many birds - even if it is only temporary.

It is no accident that so many of us have the urge to get away from dark skies and watery winter sunshine.

If you visit the SADA (Seasonal Affective Disorder Association) website, you will find that up to half a million Britons suffer from SAD, a type of winter depression, every year.

Caused by a biochemical imbalance in the brain, due to the shortening of daylight hours and lack of sunlight during the winter months, it is said to be at its worst during December, January and February.

For many people, particularly those living in the northern half of the UK, it produces a range of symptoms including sleep problems, depression, tiredness, loss of sex drive and an increased appetite. SAD describe this milder form of the disorder as "subsyndromal SAD", often known as "winter blues".

But for a minority of sun-starved people the lack of natural light during the winter months has a devastating effect. In some cases, the additional stress of light-deprivation can tip individuals over the edge and cause them to take their own lives.

Val, a SAD sufferer who tells her story on the website of Outside In, a leading UK light therapy specialist, realised something was wrong when, come September, she had difficulty getting out of bed and was shattered in the evening.

"I'd find myself falling asleep on the bus home from work - and then in front of the television half an hour later. I'd even nod off when members of my family were talking to me."

SAD can affect all age groups but statistics suggest that it more often has an impact on people aged between 18 and 30.

What convinces the SAD Association that light starvation is to blame for the range of conditions is the fact that symptoms are extremely rare among people living within 30 degrees of the Equator where daylight is plentiful and strong. The good news is that SAD symptoms gradually lessen as the sunshine returns in the spring.

Martin Brown, chief executive of the Durham-based Northern Centre for Mental Health, has no doubts that SAD not only exists, but affects significant numbers of people. For him, its a matter of common sense.

"I think everybody hates the winter months with its short days and long nights. You get up in the dark and you come home in the dark. It seems logical that if you are feeling a bit down that is going to add to your sense of not being on top of the world."

Experience suggests that individuals with mild to moderate depression are affected by what is happening around them. "That must include the weather," says Martin, a former branch head of mental health policy at the Department of Health.

He argues that there is more than enough evidence to show that the climate affects the outlook of individuals. "You just try to find someone who says they feel better in January than in July," says Martin.

"Depression is compounded by the bad weather and if that is the thing that tips you over the edge you have got to take it seriously. Look at the number of people who go away at Christmas - you have to ask yourself what are they are escaping from?

Apart from having a holiday, people feel better because they have been exposed to "nice weather and a bit of sun," he adds.

For those who have particular problems in the depths of winter, the SAD Association recommends using light therapy.

A spokesman for SADA says: "Light therapy has been proved effective in up to 85 per cent of diagnosed cases. That is, exposure, for up to four hours per day to very bright light, at least ten times the intensity of ordinary domestic lighting."

Martin wonders about some of the claims made about lightboxes but accepts that they seem to make some people feel better. "For some people lightboxes seem quite effective, although there has never been a major scientific trial of them," he says. "If you think it is going to help you, it probably will. The actual process of getting the thing out of the box and setting it up is better than sitting around doing nothing. It means you are making an attempt to solve your problem."

Val - the SAD victim featured on the Outside In website - noticed a difference within a week after buying a light box and a light-emitting alarm clock.

"For the first time in years I am able to stay awake in the evening. I can stay up to watch a film or go out to the theatre, but, more important, I have a life - something I'd been really missing," she says.

The SADA website explains why simply turning on more ordinary houselights will not help. The average home or office lighting set-up gives off between 200-500 lux (the international measurement of luminosity), but the least someone with SAD needs to lift their spirits is a light source which emits 2,500 lux. This sounds quite bright but SADA points out that a bright summer's day can provide light measured at 100,000 lux.

Light therapy, to stand any chance of working, should be used every day during the winter months and, for people who are particularly susceptible, during dull days, even in summer.

Users must sit close to the lightbox - no more than three feet away - and allow the light to shine directly into their eyes (dark glasses should not be worn).

If time is tight, some, more expensive lightboxes emit higher levels of light. This can cut the treatment time down to no more than half an hour day.

Provided it is used every day, SADA claims that lightbox therapy usually has an effect within four days. SADA advises anyone interested in a lightbox to try one before buying. Several companies offer a home trial or hire scheme. The association even hase a few boxes they can hire out for a short time. They cost around £100.

Apart from lightboxes, SADA says that psychotherapy, counselling or any form of complementary therapy aimed at helping individuals cope with their illness are useful.

One of the high street chains which supplies lightboxes is Boots. A Boots spokeswoman says sales of lightboxes and a gadget known as a sunrise/sunset clock have grown significantly in the last 12 months.

Unlike lightboxes, sunrise/sunset clocks do not provide intense light. The idea is that the clock lulls people to sleep with soft, natural sounds and gradually wakes them with slowly-increasing natural-style light.

Even if you don't invest in a lightbox, SADA suggests most people would benefit from getting as much natural daylight as possible during winter, particularly during the middle part of the day.

But the signs are that more and more people are realising that they do not need to suffer when the nights draw in.

Outside In says that interest in their products has rocketed recently. "In the last three years it really has gone mad," a spokeswoman for the Cambridge firm says. "A lot more people are becoming more aware of the problem."

So maybe next winter you can put the Majorca trip on hold, plug in a lightbox and bask in light in the comfort of your armchair. It's certainly a cheaper option.

* To contact SADA visit their website at www.sada.org.uk. The Outside In website is at www.outsidein.co.uk