
Winter is coming - jaf12duke
http://blog.42floors.com/winter-coming/
======
fein
Complaining about the winter in SF? Really? I understand seasonal depression,
but that can't even hold a candle to the bullshit we see up here in the Great
Salted North.

I wake up and bike to work during the winters here... It's pitch black until
after 8 AM. After work? Darkness and cold by 5 PM. This is for around 5 months
of the year up here. Sure, shit gets annoying during the nastiness of November
through March, but you get through it.

A winter in SF would be a vacation.

Edit: Didn't mean to be incendiary here, just wanted to put things in
perspective.

~~~
jaf12duke
The important comparison is not the cause but the outcome. I've lived in
Boston, New Hampshire, Scotland, and San Francisco. And in each, I've suffered
from seasonal depression.

A winter depression in any city is no vacation.

~~~
fein
My sister has issues with SAD, and she lives in Texas. I don't know if it just
went unrecognized while she lived here, or everyone else is just so bitter
during that time that it's just the norm. It seems the folks I know with SAD
issues are from very temperate zones, which makes no sense to me when I know
what I have to do the next day: trudge through 17 degree F temperatures at 7
AM on a bicycle.

~~~
KeliNorth
My Mother has SAD, suffered for years with it in various parts of CA (too much
gloom during winter, even though the days were long and sunny spring-autumns),
but now lives in a northern mid-west state. We discovered that SAD doesn't
affect her as much there for a couple reasons we can only guess at. The sun
was out more often even on bone-chilling days, and the snow on the ground
reflecting the light was far, far better for her than the gloomy rainy winter
days of CA.

It was a nice surprise that a colder/Winter state was better for her
particular SAD. Seems very counter-intuitive at first, but sometimes an
individual's needs aren't so clear. And I just gotta reiterate... the snow
reflecting more light into a home, combined with it adding the whole ambiance
of a Winter look (rather than the sight of gloom or leafless plants in a more
temperate state during winter) seems to have a real beneficial effect. Of
course, individual results will vary, this only works for one particular case,
but it's still of interest how SAD works and affects each person.

------
CaptainZapp
I suffer from SAD. I didn't know it for years too.

It was just that I ran into my dark phases, but had no actual clue how, or
why.

It was my psychologist, who asked the pertinent question years ago: Is there
some sort of pattern, or rhythm to this ordeal?

Well, no shit Sherlock! It always seems to happen betwen October and March.

He recommended a light and I got myself a Philips Energy Light, like 5 years
ago and it makes _huge_ difference.

I still feel shitty, during most of late Autumn and early spring. But half an
hour under the lamp, sipping green tea and usually reading whatever made life
so much better.

In addition: I'll head off for a month in Asia in January. That helps a lot
too.

Lack of light can seriously affect some people.

This may _not_ be a solution if you suffer from depression.

Get help! If you suffer from depression. Really! I mean it! It can kill you!

But for me, 30 minutes a day, under the light makes a world of a difference.

~~~
Udo
_> He recommended a light and I got myself a Philips Energy Light_

I had to look that one up and felt reminded of my internship in a psychiatric
hospital where I was mostly stationed in the psychotherapy center. By far the
most common problem the patients had was depression. We had a huge light panel
in a dedicated room and would recommend patients just sit in front of it. I
thought it was amazing how much of a difference half an our of light bath
made. The staff were using it, too! This was of course in Germany where,
except for a few short summer months, it's always dark and gloomy.

 _> Asia in January_

When I first started traveling for business, this is what cured me as well. I
always try to get in a few days extra in the Philippines when it's winter in
the EU :)

------
robotmay
I have a somewhat opposite problem; I can't work at all during the summer. I
can't deal with heat well and can barely think straight if I get even slightly
too warm. This summer in the UK was unbearable in my new flat, which appears
to have been designed as the most effective greenhouse in the world.

I always look forward to autumn and winter. I get to wear clothes I like,
nobody's outside as they're all whinging about the rain, and I feel a sort of
melancholy bliss when I'm sat indoors whilst it's raining. It's one of the
main reasons why I still live in Wales rather than somewhere like SF.

~~~
padolsey
I agree. Autumn and Winter in the UK are beautiful and I share that same
melancholy bliss. I think my ideal living/working conditions are probably: hot
beverage, crackling fire, rain outside, jazz playing in the background.

~~~
robotmay
If only I had a fireplace; one of the main things I really miss whilst living
in a flat. And jazz + rain is a superb combination, although I've found that
discovering good jazz is one of the most difficult tasks I've ever attempted;
just when you think you're on to something, BAM! Improvised trombone.

------
jusben1369
Many comments here are confusing issues:

\- It's not about relative winter temperatures \- It's not about length of
daylight hours during winter \- It's not about what your experience is with
any of the above if you don't have the disposition to begin with

He's saying "If you have this pre-disposition/afflliction plan for it
accordingly before it's too late (dark skies are here) That includes a)
artificial interior lighting b) working 30 minutes outside into your routine
somehow and c) having an escape plan that includes a week in the sun somewhere
in your winter timeframe.

As a side note I have lived in many places including Boston and the Bay Area.
The most depressed I ever felt was during El Nino driven winters in the Bay
Area. I realized I would never make it a year in Seattle. Having said that,
there were only 2 or 3 of those during my 10+ years there and I've never felt
anything like seasonal depression. My wife though did suffer from it when we
moved to Boston (and we ultimately left because of it)

------
dholowiski
Obligatory mental health comment:

Depression is very real, as is SAD. The article has some great suggestions on
how to alleviate symptoms. However - as hackers all to often we get stuck in a
'I can hack it, I can fix it' mentality - even when it comes to our own
brains.

Sometimes it's just 'the blues'. Often you can 'fix' it. But sometimes you
can't.

If you are suffering and nothing you do seems to fix it - please - please -
see a doctor. This isn't always something you can fix on your own. We can't
afford to lose another hacker - not even you.

------
VLM
On a side tangent resulting in similar (edited: milder) symptoms, for decades
I've noticed the typical westerner calendar is extremely lopsided. June thru
December is one holiday per month if not more, where you can take a vacation
and not stress about whats going on back at work, in comparison the other half
of the year January thru June has ... basically no time off. Oh you can take a
vacation day, you'll just have two days of junk in your inbox tomorrow, and
that makes stress worse not better.

I get slightly depressed in January for a couple weeks with the realization
that my next day off is pretty much Memorial Day weekend at the end of May.
That's a long time to go without a break, especially after spending the second
half of the year never working more than about 3 weeks without yet another
holiday.

That's why I don't think the articles advice to go on a vacation is useful.
WRT stress reduction all you'll end up with when taking a vacation in the
first half of the year is getting paged/called by everyone still at work and
you'll have an overflowing inbox. In comparison, during the other half of the
year you don't even need to spend vacation days to get long weekends and slow
work weeks. 90% of the company takes friday after thanksgiving off, I may as
well take it off too.

So to reiterate one last time I'm talking about something that happens at the
same time of year with vaguely similar symptoms for a completely different
reason (or maybe not?) than the discussion of low D3 vitamins or whatever...
although I'm sure the lack of holidays does not help those suffering from
medical issues.

~~~
Pxtl
What about Good Friday (and the gov't holiday of Easter Monday if you're in
that field)? Anyhow, to counter this we get a day in February called "Family
Day" here in Ontario - one of the much-maligned Ontario Liberal Party's better
ideas.

~~~
VLM
I don't work in a Catholic country so no federal holiday. For the operations
people, Easter Sunday isn't even recognized as an official company holiday,
much less Good Friday or Ash Wednesday.

There is Valentines day which if you're hetronormative and a girl must be a
lot of fun, but for us guys its pretty much just an expensive stressful (or
lonely?) PITA. I could do without it, happily.

Arbor day doesn't cut it either. Yo dude its Arbor Day lets go out and get
drunk! Uh yeah you go do that and hug a tree for me.

~~~
Pxtl
Bah, when you said "Westerner", I assumed you were an Albertan. Dumb Canadian
moment. I never realized that Americans don't get Good Friday off like we do
in Canada.

~~~
VLM
I was thinking more like I have no idea what the holiday calendar looks like
in China or India. Its a big world, some culture out there probably works
opposite the west, tirelessly in the second half of the year and the first
half of the year is full of their ethnic festivals.

------
sdoering
Living in northern Germany (read Hamburg) I can only agree.

That last winter here was very difficult for me, too. Especially the long,
grey and dark weeks, without so much than a glimpse of sunshine.

Not very good for me. What has helped me, at least a little bit, was, that I
started dancing again. Having someone else, who's "training" depends on you
makes it less likely, that you do not go. And dancing is quite actually really
strenuous, if done right and a lot of fun.

I learned to listen to my body, learned to feel my body better and now have at
least two days a week, when I come home relaxed, lucky-exhausted.

But not everything is good. I feel, that "winter is coming". I can feel the
energy withdrawing to a place deep inside me. I feel like curling up and
preparing for hibernation. But that is not possible. I have to do my best at
work everyday. So hibernating is not an option ;-)

So I wish all of you out there well. Be it SAD or be it "just" the "winter
blues" be well and take care of yourself.

~~~
memracom
To all those who thought that this was about latitude, read the above post
again. ... long, grey and dark weeks...

The experience of people living in coastal cities is often a lot worse than
the experience of lucky northerners living in Calgary, Edmonton or Fort
McMurray. Those northerners can put on their parkas and go outside at
lunchtime to enjoy the glorious sunshine even though it is 35 below zero. And
I didn't mention Celsius or Fahrenheit because at those low temperatures it
makes little difference.

I know of what I speak, having lived in Calgary where I followed a daily
lunchtime ritual of going outside, starting the car engine and driving around
for 30 minutes to warm it up. If I had not done that, I would have been unable
to start the engine at the end of the workday. Not everyone has the luxury of
an electric outlet in the parking lot at their workplace.

And I have also worked in London England, not that far from the same North Sea
that is next to Hamburg. And there I experienced the endless weeks of overcast
skies with no sunshine whatsoever and a succession of rain and drizzle. While
I haven't lived in SF, I have been there several times in the winter and
noticed that every day seems to start out overcast with thick fog and cloud
overhead. That would shorten the day enough to give anyone S.A.D.

------
secstate
Just finished commenting on the post about the failure of science. Can't help
but comment here on a post about SAD. And I am by no means making light of
things. I myself struggled with SAD while in college for a few years. It's no
fun at all.

That said, you know how I get through winter now? I live a lifestyle that is
surprisingly similar to how my Northern European ancestors would have. And a
big part of that is diet:

1\. Seafood 2\. Pastured animal meat/fat

Along with being a software developer, I am also a hog breeder. If you raise
animals, but especially hogs, on open pasture exposed to the sun, their lard
becomes saturated in trace elements like vitamin D3 [1].

1:
[http://www.vitamindwiki.com/%22Free+range%22+lard+has+500+IU...](http://www.vitamindwiki.com/%22Free+range%22+lard+has+500+IU+vitamin+D+per+teaspoon)

------
randywaterhouse
I've found myself in a similar position, in the past (although not for a few
years). SAD is a real thing, and it has actual physical consequences.

I remember when I had it I would change my workout routine (read: go from
running daily to running weekly... Maybe... Okay once a month). Which would
only further affect me as I experienced the effects of reduced exercise, and
those endorphins were seriously missed.

Definitely following some of the advice in the article helps, although I never
did any supplements. I've beaten it by surrounding myself with a fun group of
people both professionally and personally, and I keep my eye on the prize
(whatever project I'm doing for work). Putting my head down and working hard
is definitely a great antidote for me, although I know if might not work for
everyone (it might make things worse!). I found that with a specific
professional goal in mind I could get up easier, go to the gym easier, go to
the office earlier, and get through my projects more efficiently.

Make a routine and keep on pushing!

------
300bps
_Check your D3 levels_

About 5 years ago, my doctor randomly tested me for Vitamin D levels. My level
was about 20 ng/ml where you should be at least 30 ng/ml and likely closer to
40 ng/ml.

My doctor recommended that I start taking 1,000 I.U. of Vitamin D3 per day
which I did. For fun I looked up the problems that can be caused by having
insufficient Vitamin D:

[http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/vitamin-d-
deficiency](http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/vitamin-d-deficiency)

Heart disease, cognitive impairment, asthma, _cancer_ , etc. Yeah - _cancer_.
In addition, a Vitamin D deficiency can actually cause back pain. That was my
only major symptom. It's been 5 years and I haven't had a back pain episode
since I started taking Vitamin D. Anecdotal, of course. But my levels are
where they should be now and I just take one tiny Vitamin D3 pill per day.

~~~
TallGuyShort
Well, Web MD tells me I probably have cancer pretty often. In some places you
can't even buy household goods, eat at a restaurant, or fill your car up with
gas without warnings that you're probably getting cancer right that very
minute.

------
AhtiK
Does anyone have experience with either Philips goLITE [1] or Wake-Up light
[2]? I wonder which of these will be more effective (blue vs warm yellow).

Alternatively, has anyone managed to build such a device at home? AFAIK 470 nm
wavelength LEDs are the way to go but getting 10k lux out of the grid..

[1] [http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-
Device/dp/B...](http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-
Device/dp/B001I45XL8/)

[2] [http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-Colored-
Simulat...](http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-Colored-
Simulation/dp/B0093162RM/)

~~~
joshkaufman
I have the Philips goLITE, and highly recommend it. The blue wavelength makes
a noticeable difference. It runs off of a rechargeable battery, which is very
handy if you move around the house/office in the morning. It's also small
enough to use as a travel alarm clock, and I've found using it makes it much
easier to shift time zones.

~~~
AhtiK
Thank you.

How well does it fit into your morning routine? Do you have to stare straight
to the goLITE right after waking up or would it work just by keeping it next
to the breakfast table or next to the bed?

~~~
joshkaufman
You don't need to stare at it - I usually keep off to the side of whatever I'm
doing. As long as you can see it in your peripheral vision, it works. I
usually set mine for 60 minutes, and it shuts off automatically.

------
16s
Not only are more people depressed, but more actually die during the winter
too:

[http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/01/06/winter-kills-excess-
de...](http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/01/06/winter-kills-excess-deaths-in-
the-winter-months/)

------
jdmitch
Does taking vitamin D3 supplements really work for the OP? There have been a
number of HN posts about how the vitamin fad started by Linus Pauling has not
been backed up scientifically, such as this one:

[http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/07/the-
vitami...](http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/07/the-vitamin-myth-
why-we-think-we-need-supplements/277947/?1)

but maybe there is more to it when it comes to SAD...

~~~
jaf12duke
OP here. I'll give a qualified yes.

It's hard to actually know which action I take has the most effect. Vitamin D,
bright lights, exercise all play a role. I've found it's important to try
everything and hope for the best.

If I were to pick just one thing to do though, it would be the bright lights
in the morning. I know for sure that those work. Not only for myself, but for
many other people who have given it a try.

~~~
ozh
Yes, fixing your Vitamin D level gives a very effective boost, however it is
absolutely _not_ harmless to consume too much vit D as the article implies.
More:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervitaminosis_D](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervitaminosis_D)

~~~
teach
Hypervitaminosis D is _incredibly_ rare. Taking 1000 IU per day ought to be
harmless for literally everyone. Even 10,000 IU per day is WAY below toxicity.

~~~
simonhughes22
You are missing the point. Above a certain level, the negative side effects
start out weighing the positive affects. So just because something is not
close to toxicity, does not mean it is actually having a net benefit on your
health. With vitamins, take the recommended dosage, or preferably slightly
less, as it is likely you are getting at least something from your diet, not
matter how poor. Anything above that is likely to start having negative
effects that start to outweigh any benefits. Most adults get sufficient
vitamins and minerals from their diet, even a poor western diet. Vitamin D
however, is the exception if you don't get enough sun.

~~~
teach
I'm not talking about vitamins in general; I'm talking about vitamin D and how
embarrassingly low the U.S. RDA is.

There are a great many Americans who would see immense benefit by taking (say)
1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day. And I feel pretty confident there are
no people for whom an extra 2,000 IU would be negative.

------
Raphmedia
Sunrise today: 7:29 AM, Sunset today: 5:46 PM. (In Montreal) Things are good
now, but in a little while, it is going to set at 4PM. Goodbye sun. I recently
got one of those sunrise alarm clock. Let's see if it helps.

~~~
richardlblair
Ottawa reporting in. Hell is about to come upon us, friend. Buckle down, I
have a feeling this winter is going to be a rough one.

------
benaiah
I live in Alaska - four+ feet of snow in the winter, 20 below or colder for
months at a time, dark from 4pm to 9am, etc. Personally, winter sucks, and it
keeps me inside even more than typical. It just causes problems (cars don't
like the cold very much, among other things) and makes me miserable. I dread
every day the temperature drops, and I'm not looking forward to snowfall.

------
peterwwillis
The most depressing thing about this post:

> Buy some lights

> You want to get lights that are at least 5,000 lux and preferably 10,000
> lux. I recommend checking out Biobrite – that’s your first stop with the
> Per3 and the Philips light products as secondary options. Anything that
> doesn’t explicitly say it is either 5,000 or 10,000 lux is not going to do
> the job of stimulating serotonin.

GO.

THE.

FUCK.

OUTSIDE.

Wake the fuck up, as soon as the sun starts to peek out, and _stay outside_
until you feel awake and full of life. Then go back to your rectangular cave
and hide out. Until lunch time, when you _go the fuck outside again_. Wear a
thermal t-shirt and shorts and run a mile. Then go back to your cave again.
Before the sun sets, _go outside once more_ and watch the sunset, preferably
in a jog.

Serotonin my ass. You're feeling the pressure of human society weighing you
down, and winter is a reminder of your own mortality. Go outside and look at a
lake surrounded by leafless trees, sip some hot tea, and think about how
beautiful it all is.

(and then remember and be thankful that you're not stuck in Florida, but maybe
that's just me)

------
mkingston
Skiing. (Or snowboarding. Or ice climbing. Or mountaineering. For those in
milder climates: mountain biking) The take-home point is: get a great winter
activity to look forward to.

I used to feel this way (depressed in winter), but not since I started
snowboarding. I'm _really_ looking forward to winter at the moment, having
moved from the southern to northern hemisphere recently.

~~~
cylinder
All of the suggestions in this thread are too expensive. A ski trip for me
would require a car rental, lodging, ski rental, lift fees and such, easily
over $1,000 for a couple over a weekend. The light products, too, seem too
expensive. Are there not 10,000 lux bulbs I can buy and stick into a socket? I
don't need a "device."

~~~
mkingston
Skiing is expensive, I agree. But less so if you own the equipment. The same
goes for a range of other activities.

Mountain biking is probably one of the best value-for-money winter sports I
can think of in the UK (where I live) and NZ (where I'm from). One reasonably
large expense up-front followed by low-cost or free access to various trails
in various parks, and reasonably low equipment maintenance costs.

Hiking is another alternative. Though it's not really something to look
forward to in winter specifically; and if you can't enjoy it in summer, you
probably won't in winter. Slightly lower up-front costs (some microfleece
clothes and a good waterproof coat and hiking boots) but even lower transport
costs.

Of course both of those still come with a transport cost. If you need to avoid
that as well, you should consider photography. I've found that since I've
started developing some photography skills I'm never too sad about the
climate- there's always something outside to try and capture nicely. And if
you're able to throw in some hiking (or even walks in parks nearby) it becomes
much nicer. The current season is especially fun in the UK where most of the
trees (those that I've seen) are deciduous, unlike NZ.

In any case, you may have to put some effort into any of these things; I
didn't really enjoy winter hiking to begin with, but I've learned to really
enjoy it. And, to be clear: not begrudgingly. Very enthusiastically.

------
simonhughes22
I would recommend a much lower dosage of Vitamin D3 than the extreme high
dosage (5,000 IU) on that Amazon site. While it is important to maintain
reasonable levels of D3, higher levels can cause a range of problems, from
kidney stones to increased risk of heart problems due to the raised calcium
levels in your blood. The Linus Pauling institute recommends 600 IU, just over
1/8th the dosage of that link. People overdose on Vitamins these days, and are
simply unaware that large dosages of vitamins can do far more harm than good.
A little is good so more is better is a logical fallacy, yet a lot of people
think this way. So I applaud you for bringing this to people's attention, but
please recommend safer Vitamin D3 levels.

~~~
simonhughes22
It is worth pointing out that it depends on your age, your deficiency level,
and whether you are pregnant. Here is a good article from the Mayo clinic:

[http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-d/NS_patient-
vitami...](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-d/NS_patient-
vitamind/DSECTION=dosing)

~~~
simonhughes22
Here is a link to 1,000 IU dosage:

[http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-
Vitamin-1000-Softgels/dp/B00...](http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-
Vitamin-1000-Softgels/dp/B000A0LE6O/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1383002971&sr=1-1&keywords=vitamin+d3+1000+iu)

You may want to opt for the 600 IU if you get some sun as it is. I live in
Chicago, so no much sun for me in Winter time.

------
mbq
I live in Poland and I have the opposite; for me winter is a stimulant. I
don't know whether this is some remnant genetic call to survive hard times or
a fact that it casts a kind of sterile aura that helps me to flow, but I'm
objectively more productive then.

------
beloch
Today's forecast for where I live is a low of -11 C and up to 20cm of snow. I
couldn't be happier. The local ski-hills will open that much sooner! I
actually feel a little bit sorry for those living in San Francisco. Summer
goes away but you never get to enjoy real winter activities. If you're
complaining about winter in SF, you should probably either move someplace
warmer or someplace colder.

Really, all it takes to enjoy winter is finding a winter activity you can look
forward to. If you live someplace without winter, perhaps you should pick a
sport to engage in only during the winter. Hell, SF must have at least one
curling rink.

~~~
ChuckMcM
_Summer goes away but you never get to enjoy real winter activities._

You should tell that to my skiing obsessed family. There are no fewer than 10
Ski resorts in the Tahoe Basin alone, much less all along the Sierras. And
they are only a few hours away by car or train. Californians often espouse the
opinion that we have "well behaved" snow, it stays in the mountains where it
belongs :-)

But the point of getting out is always good. I try to take more walks in the
winter months.

~~~
dasil003
Tahoe is basically 4 hours from SF, and up to 8 if there is fresh snow, which
rules out day trips for all but the most hard-core. It's not as bad as flat
land out east, but it's certainly got nothing (including snow quality) on what
is available in Utah / Colorado.

------
protomyth
Winter in North Dakota is interesting since you typically go to work and leave
work in the dark. When you do go out during the day and drive somewhere, you
typically wear sunglasses because the sunshine[1] off the snow makes it hard
to drive otherwise. Unless the weather is poor (less often than you think),
where you don't see the sun. The wind typically means you are not going to
take any leisurely walks.

1) it is fairly sunny, but since the ground is covered in white stuff you
don't get the heat absorption. Cloudy days feel less cold.

------
mbubb
Reminded me of Ezra Pound's rewrite of Middle English Poem about summer:

Ancient Music - Ezra Pound

    
    
      Winter is icumen in,
      Lhude sing Goddamm,
      Raineth drop and staineth slop,
      And how the wind doth ramm!
      Sing: Goddamm.
      Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
      An ague hath my ham.
      Freezeth river, turneth liver,
      Damm you; Sing: Goddamm.
      Goddamm, Goddamm, 'tis why I am, Goddamm,
      So 'gainst the winter's balm.
      Sing goddamm, damm, sing goddamm,
      Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.

------
aboodman
I grew up in Southern California, and feel like that might be part of why the
two long grey winters in sf each year affect me worse than my friends.

I found that a good antidote to the second winter was making snowboarding a
more serious hobby. It had been something I'd done a few times when I was
younger, but it was too far away to do regularly.

Here in the bay area though, a weekend of sun, beer, adventure, exercise, and
hottubbing are only 3 hours away. And it turns the winter into something to
look forward to.

~~~
vonmoltke
I had a similar experience moving from Ft. Lauderdale to Dallas. The contrast
was made even more interesting because many of the people I worked with when I
moved out here originally came from northern climes, with a few coming from
places where snowfall is measured in feet instead of inches. I have adapted to
it, mainly because North Texas winters tend to be sunny and dry. I would still
rather be back in South Florida, though. Winter was actually the _best_ time
to be outside there.

~~~
xradionut
Winter isn't that bad in North Texas. At worst we'll have a ice or snow storm
once every decade that will shut the area down for a day or two. It's a great
time for exercising outdoors and catching up on sleep. My dog loves the
weather change, makes for longer walks in a cooler clime.

~~~
vonmoltke
Its not, but you are talking to someone for whom the dead of winter was a low
40 for a few nights prior to moving out here. The snow and ice I actually
like, mainly because it is infrequent.

------
noir_lord
I'm the opposite of this, I long for summer to be over and love the coming of
the Winter.

I hate heat (fortunately I live in the North of England so it's not that
frequent) far more than I hate the cold or dark.

In winter time I burrow in and get far more done (plus _nothing_ beats going
cycling on a road bike in the country at night when it's -5C, crystal clear
and you can see stars so close you could reach out and touch them).

I actually dread the Summer.

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palidanx
What is super bizarre is after I had some blood work done, the doctor said I
was deficient in Vitamin D and I live in Southern California. He further
continued, that we often are indoors most of the time, and even when we go
outside we cover up and don't get much direct exposure.

Adding to the further craziness, I asked several of my friends of their
vitamin d levels and they said they were deficient also.

~~~
jaf12duke
I was living in Colorado, which has 300 days of sunshine a year. But the same
thing happened. It was cold in the winter, even if sunny. So whenever I was
out in the sun, my skin was covered completely,

~~~
jsonne
That's interesting. I just moved to Colorado a year and I definitely noticed
an uptick in my mood. I still take a vitamin D supplement, but I'm finding I'm
having a much more consistently higher mood in the winter months than I did in
Iowa.

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VLM
WRT "Wake-Up Light With Colored Sunrise Simulation, White" and other
technological gadgets, I've a hypothesis that some people actually wake up at
sunrise (like an anti-vampire I guess?) and other people do pure internal
clock. Furthermore part of my hypothesis is there is a strong correlation
between those types and likelihood of SAD-diagnosis.

There are implications beyond SAD, such as alarm clock design. For example I
can completely decouple from light input and sleep thru bright sunlight on my
face if I'm tired (or drunk or hungover as I occasionally was in my youth). In
fact many a time in my youth on weekends I'd come home around sunrise and fall
asleep no problemo. If I used an alarm clock that simulated sunrise, I suspect
I'd come into work late very often. On the other hand for SAD sufferers is the
experience literally like a lightswitch like the sun rises and you are like
biologically forced to wake up? If so they'd do very well indeed with a
techno-gadget like this.

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dmourati
As an avid skier, I have SAD but in reverse. Once the snow starts falling (as
it did in Lake Tahoe this weekend) I start perking up.

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critium
I know somebody that is actually diagnosed with this and its a serious
condition.

Am I the only person that thinks that having the acronymn SAD is actually
counterproductive? I mean, kind of sounds like a bad joke right?

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avneet
Can't agree more. As the days get shorter and the sky gets gloomy, my mood
becomes gloomier. I've been aware of this for several years now. I noticed
that when I was in college that I skipped more classes during winter and had
the worst grades during winter quarter. Some of the things that work for me to
keep myself motivated- Exercise, waking up and repeating to myself- "what do I
need to achieve today?", eating healthy, turning the heater off sometimes and
keep the house as bright as possible.

Awesome blogpost!

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joshuapayne
This is one of the reason I ski living in Boston. Granted I can't do it on a
daily basis, but I get outside on the weekends and get some sunshine. I can
notice the pickup.

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johndl
I've experienced this too, not just in winter.

I live in Scotland, and the weather is mostly wet and damp (rain on ~2 out of
3 days of the year). This year we had a glorious summer. I got productive work
done in a single month in June than the entire first 5 months of the year.

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jotm
I think everyone is affected by seasons - in my case, I feel down during
seasons change, mostly May and October. I feel awesome during winter, I love
it, summer not so much since I hate hot and humid weather (UK is pretty great
during summer IMO :-D).

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pimeys
I have the same problem, but this winter I decided to fight it and take a six
week vacation to Thailand in the worst months. I hope this helps to fight the
depression, because I've never tried to take a vacation that long in the
middle of winter.

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aeflash
FYI, every single Vitamin D supplement I've seen is just olive oil in gel
capsules. You can even see it in the imaged on the amazon product page he
linked. I just cook with olive oil all the time -- stir frys, eggs, meats,
etc....

~~~
Dirlewanger
_is just olive oil in gel capsules._

...additionally with Vitamin D in them.

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fjabre
Weed got me through last winter.

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philsnow
> how many days in a row did you go without getting at least half-an-hour of
> direct bright sunlight

One of my major life goals is maximizing this number. I'd get a good peeling
burn if I let myself sit out in the sun like that.

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AznHisoka
I'd be OK with the winter... but winter means horrible TV programming. It's
not yet March, so no Game of Thrones. Breaking Bad just ended. And Walking
Dead will go on a short hiatus.

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bluekite2000
Someone should start an endless summer club. Get a group of people together
and work for 6 months in San Francisco then go South (Buenos Aires or sth
equivalent) when winter comes.

------
Too
Does staring into two bright 24" monitors 8h per day help?

~~~
lhc-
Unfortuneately, montitor light does not have much in common with Sunlight, and
doesn't seem to have any positive effect.

------
jeltz
I wonder what causes it since the variations in sunlight are tiny in SF
(shortest day = 9.5 hours) compared to for example Stockholm (shortest day = 6
hours).

~~~
GrinningFool
Variations being comparatively small doesn't make them tiny.

Shortest day in SF is 9.5 hours. Longest day in SF is 14.75 hours.

That's a significant difference. In comparison to Stockholm (6/18.5) it
doesn't appear significant - but it's in no way tiny.

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mixmastamyk
Interesting post. If he's that affected, he should move to Los Angeles, where
he'll get ~11.5 months of happiness and productivity per year.

~~~
palidanx
Except for the ridiculous time of June gloom. For those not in LA, we get no
sun from 8am-1pm mostly the entire month of June.

What ends up happening is I see most people sad in the mornings until 1pm. I
used to make fun of those people when I realized I was one of them.

~~~
mixmastamyk
True, though we didn't seem to have it this year, not sure why. Also, the
farther you get from the beach the thinner it gets.

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sirkneeland
Well I guess moving to Finland is out of the question for the author...

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j03w
Would moving overseas help then? Winter in US is summer in downunder.

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davewasthere
I just switch hemispheres... problem solved. :)

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berntb
As a Scandinavian, it is surprising to read people from so far, far south
complaining about SAD.

I've been in mid Europe for a while. The sun here in mid winter is like being
clubbed in the face with a bat of sunlight. Simply wonderful.

You might want to consider to eat breakfast before a daylight lamp, it helped
me and others.

If you guys have SAD problems in _California_ , don't go to Sweden... (Ok,
there is probably few reasons to go there even without SAD problems. :-) )

Edit: The difference might be that you don't notice how different you are in
winter if you grew up in the north, like not noticing the air?

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cmccabe
Pretty much everywhere in the San Francisco bay area is sunny year round,
except San Francisco itself. So if you have seasonal affective disorder, you
could always just live in the east or south bay during the winter months. As a
bonus you'd save on rent.

