Ahhh! The arrival of spring; flowers, warm breezes, and mother earth tilting towards the sun and the attendant longer hours of sunshine.

If you are in the community of the winter challenged, this means your energy and interest will be picking up, the days will regain their joy.

So, while you are on top of your game, it is a good time to think about maintaining that cheerful edge through the dreary winter months, coming as surely as that shortest day just before Christmas when you would even kick your dog if you had the energy.

Sitting in front of a 10,000 lux lamp for 30 or more minutes a day may be a valuable aid in keeping your composure through the days of short sunshine. Of course, if you are an active person, then you may want to get one of BioBrite’s Deluxe Light Visors, and wear your surrogate sunshine (which looks like a golf visor) while vacuuming.

All right, not vacuuming. Riding your new exercise bike. OK?

This is an especially fortuitous combination, because the light will tend to lift your mood and the exercise, study after study shows, will improve your self image and use up the calories that you usually store in the winter.

Think of it; better moods all winter and a bathing suit that fits in the spring.

If you are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (“SAD”) you probably know that a dose of light is helpful. It is, after all, logical. We understand what is needed well enough, now, that we have developed an industry standard for the amount of light and the time of the application.

Industry? Yes, there is an industry group (The Circadian Lighting Association at www.claorg.org) made up of companies which are involved with the manufacture of lighting implements for the mitigation of SAD. The Association was formed in 1993, so it has been among us for some time.

And what of the industry standard? The industry believes that to control SAD one should sit in front of a 10,000 lux lamp for 30 minutes daily.

However, each of us is a little different, and you may need a little less than 30 minutes or you may need more, up to an hour.

How do you know? By how you feel. We have not developed a formula for who should get how much, in the way antibiotics are given by weight. But when you get the timing right, you’ll know.

The Winter Blahs

If you dislike winter because you feel depressed and grumpy for the whole time, and wish spring would come, starting in October, you aren't alone and it isn't "just you."

You may have a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder ("SAD") along with an estimated 18 million other Americans. And another 42 million Americans probably are affected negatively by the winter season.

See? You are really not alone.

SAD is a condition that can be managed, and sometimes brought completely under control, by the application of strong lighting.

So this blog is for the "Winter Challenged" community, and we're going to be writing about coping with winter and we are hoping that you will feel easy about telling us your experiences as a member of the Winter Challenged set. By sharing, you'll be helping.