Fight Seasonal Affective Disorder with Light | Hacker News Reader

Fight Seasonal Affective Disorder with Light

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11 pointsyeutterg10 comments

Sure, try light. But try vitamin D (D3 isomer) supplements, as well.

Whatever other benefits they do or don't have (the latest: 'No help for bone strength in seniors'), I am not alone in my anecdotal experience of having my mood stabilize (towards the positive side) significantly within a day or two of starting D3.

Also a great tip! Thanks!

How much do you take?

Currently, 5000 IU per day. Happens to be the dosage in an economic but reliable source. I've tried lower, e.g 1000 UI, and I've gone as high as 6000 IU. That seems to be the upper end of what is generally recommended.

You'll get all sorts of opinions, and I don't know the truth of it. So many things competing to do me in, I'm not going to worry about it -- one of the other things is a much likelier candidate for COD, at this point.

I started taking it because one side of the family has had a lot of cancer. I was NOT looking for nor expecting any change in mood. That was a complete surprise, and it took me a few days to figure it out. It was only after this -- some time after -- that I started reading of other people experiencing a similar effect upon mood.

P.S. There's also some debate about how many doses per day, IIRC. The digestive tract is not the best delivery mechanism, and ingested D perhaps also doesn't stick around as much -- not like solar/skin generated D stored in skin and fat. I think some people recommend multiple smaller doses, as opposed to one daily dose. I don't know.

I do know that if I run out or otherwise don't take it, I notice the absence (in terms of mood) within a day or two.

Do you monitor your vitD blood levels? Regularly supplementing that amount (2.5xUL) is not recommended if your labs indicate sufficient levels.

No. Health care in the U.S. is not too conducive to actual management, as opposed to crisis intervention.

Thank you for the warning. Maybe I will scale back. The supplement brand I've been using upped the dosage, and I just went along with it. Before that, I'd reduced my dosage to more in the 1000 - 2000 IU range, and it was coming through multiple doses across the day.

I have read about controversy as to whether the U.S. RDA was set too low -- just enough to prevent rickets, a primary concern at that time.

Light therapy changed my life. I keep my light on for a few hours a day, September through April.

Awesome! What surprised me most was how much SAD increases as you move away from the equator.

A good idea would be a bulb that transitions through the day.

Something we're considering! There is already a great solution from Ketra (https://www.ketra.com) but it's very expensive.

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