On the Bright Side, Again

I spent the winter holidays in Argentina, in part making contact with distant relatives in the German-Jewish community in Buenos Aires. I arrived near the summer solstice and then lengthened the days further by heading south for a brief tourist visit to Patagonia. Bariloche is about as far from the equator as southern New England, so dawn began close to six in the morning, and evening twilight stretched until ten.

Those long days just feel good. I had new energy, fresh ideas - well, perhaps one does on vacation anyway. But surely sunshine helps.

That's what I tell patients when I recommend bright lights here at 41 degrees 49 minutes north, where (today) the sun sets at 4:29 PM and civil twilight ends at 5:01. Run 10,000 lux for half an hour in the morning, let your brain imagine you're a bit further south, and you'll perk up.

I know, I know. The evidence is weak that bright lights help straightforward major depression, the type that's not clear-cut seasonal affective disorder. (See here and here and here; for a more upbeat reading of the data, see here.)

But light therapy has become less expensive. The sorts of devices that once cost $300 and up are now available through Amazon and big-box discounters for under $160. The lights are less clunky and more portable than they once were - sort of cool-looking, actually, so your dormitory roommate might be jealous rather than scornful.

If I sound like a salesman - that's because I am repeatedly amazed at how resistant depressed patients can be to trying a low-tech approach to mood disorder. After all, some people do simply live further south. But then, in depression, it's hard to make any effort, and hard to hope.

Anyway, that was one of my thoughts as the sun rose over Lago Nahuel Huapi - long days are easy to live with. As for the artificial version: often, the lights help. Even when they don't, people like the feeling they give; and in the midst of depression, a little pleasure can be a great boon.