01/14/2026
Attention all of my midwestern and east coast friends - just a little PSA for you :)
I've had this conversation several times this week with patients, so I thought I'd share with you all.
If you notice feeling "blah" because of the lack of sunlight, congrats! You are normal!
Our brains need sunlight to regulate mood, sleep, energy, and appetite. The lack of sunlight in the winter months can be hard on our brains and bodies.
Luckily, scientists have found that using a sunlamp in the winter months can improve mood, energy and sleep. *Hooray for advances in neuroscience!* The sunlamp mimics the sunlight for our suprachiasmatic nucleus in our hypothalamus (where our internal clock lives).
If you want to try sunlamp therapy, here are few things scientists recommend:
1) Make sure the sunlamp you use is at least 10,000 lux.
2) Use it in the morning, as close to your wake time as possible.
3) Start small. 5 mins is what I recommend and eventually increase your time in front of the lamp up to 30 mins.
4) Some time is better than no time in front of the lamp.
5) You don't need to stare at the light (just like you don't stare at the sun). Just have it pointing in your direction.
6) If there is ANY sunshine outside, get out in it.
Hang in there, gang! Spring comes every year!
https://nigms.nih.gov/image-gallery/6613
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/are-sun-lamps-best-to-improve-your-winter-mood
