November 16, 2010
Blurb
Why might the waning light cause lethargy, depression, social withdrawal and even hunger in many
people?
Some scientists suggest that those who experience the winter blues are just more sensitive to light and
light deprivation. Others have shown that, in people with the blues, serotonin, the brain chemical
involved in feeling satisfied, dips excessively when there is less daylight.
A widely accepted theory is that the limited winter light alters our biological clocks.
Humans run on an approximately 24-hour cycle that sets us up to be active during the day and to rest
at night, says Michael Terman, a Columbia University psychiatry professor and president of the
nonprofit Center for Environmental Therapeutics.
Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/15/AR201011...
people?
Some scientists suggest that those who experience the winter blues are just more sensitive to light and
light deprivation. Others have shown that, in people with the blues, serotonin, the brain chemical
involved in feeling satisfied, dips excessively when there is less daylight.
A widely accepted theory is that the limited winter light alters our biological clocks.
Humans run on an approximately 24-hour cycle that sets us up to be active during the day and to rest
at night, says Michael Terman, a Columbia University psychiatry professor and president of the
nonprofit Center for Environmental Therapeutics.
Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/15/AR201011...