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Winter is coming

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Re: Winter is coming

#71

Post by robotmay »

padolsey wrote: post #41
robotmay wrote: post #32

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 abo…

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.

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.

Re: Winter is coming

#72

Post by 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)

Re: Winter is coming

#73

Post by jusben1369 »

fein wrote: post #11

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,…

It would be. In fact, if you suffered from seasonal depression you would probably love the first winter in SF! However after a few years you'd adjust and that would be your new low and you'd be back to square 1.

Re: Winter is coming

#74

Post by mhewett »

AhtiK wrote: post #22

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... [2] http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-C…

I purchased the Lightphoria 10,000 Lux light and used it last winter for the first time (I'm in my 50s). It had a slight, but noticeable effect on my mood. I pointed it at the ceiling for 30 minutes while I got dressed in the morning. It definitely seemed to help. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JF3G08

Re: Winter is coming

#75

Post by 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.

Re: Winter is coming

#76

Post by 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.

Re: Winter is coming

#77

Post by 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.

Re: Winter is coming

#78

Post by tnorthcutt »

beloch wrote: post #75

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…

He's not "complaining about winter". It's not the temperature; it's the (lack of) sunshine.

Your second paragraph is a good suggestion. Getting outside while there is daylight will help.

Re: Winter is coming

#79

Post by fohlin »

AhtiK wrote: post #22

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... [2] http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-C…

I have used that exact Wake-Up light model for about a year. It has had a marginal effect, in that I wake "naturally" (before the sound alarm goes off) about 1 night in 20. As a simple source of bright light, it performs as you would expect -- with the extra benefit that my tired morning self does not have to bother with turning it on.

I would rank its usefulness above 0, but below a consistent bed time, and so far, below vitamin D (3250 IU in the morning).

Re: Winter is coming

#80

Post by gruseom »

threedaymonk wrote: post #64
Pxtl wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remember that the days are even shorter in Canadian winter, too. SF's shortest day of the year is 9.4 hours long. Toronto's shortest day is 8.7 hours long, and Toronto is one of Canada's southern-most cities. Montreal and Quebec City have it worse, but those poor damned Calgarians take the cake with only 7.7 hours of daylight on Christmas. Only about 45 minutes difference from SF here in Hamilton, but still, it's tha…

I never stop being surprised by just how far south everyone lives in Canada. London gets about 7 hours and 50 minutes of daylight on the shortest day; in Scotland it's less than 7 hours.

Yes, we're almost all huddled in a narrow ribbon against the southern border.

I never stop being surprised y how temperate Western European climates are at equivalent (or higher!) latitudes to ours. "Surprised" is a bit of a euphemism—"pissed off" might be more like it :)

One compensation where I live is that even when the days are cold and short, they are usually brilliantly sunny.

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