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Fighting the Winter-Time Blues

Suggested lead: One tool in fighting the winter-time blues could be as close as the light switch, but it still pays to talk to a professional. Tom Britt has more.

Nearly everyone has felt the "blues" during the winter months, when we're locked indoors and the sun refuses to shine. There are some persons, however, for whom these "blues" last the entire winter season. Ruth Quillan is a psychologist at the Duke University Medical Center. She says "Seasonal Affective Disorder" is a form of depression made worse by the lack of sunlight.

"Part of it is that natural daylight is connected to the sleep-wake cycle of the body and our bodies run on all these different diurnal rhythms, daily rhythms, and when certain rhythms are out of sync with other rhythms you're more likely to have mood disorders."

Quillan says there is good evidence that your mood can be improved by using certain types of lighting that mimic the sun, but she also advises anyone who thinks they might be suffering from seasonal affective disorder to see a counselor. If nothing else, it could help just to have someone to talk to during the cold, gray days of winter. I'm Tom Britt.