In Beth Messner's office in the Letterman Communication Building, her windows let in some light from a overcast day.
Despite the dreary conditions, Messner, associate professor communications studies, said she noticed the season's effects by feeling tired during the winter months.
She said, however, she did not notice any effects of the winter blues in her classes.
Kent Bullis, medical director and physician, said seasonal affective disorder is a condition where, in the winter months where there is less sun light, people experience slight depression.
He said light exposure did not have to be toward the eyes. The light can be exposed to any part of the body, he said.
Bullis said there was a study done where people were exposed to relative darkness. Then, some of the groups were exposed to light at the back of their knee caps, he said.
The people exposed to the light, he said, had a better overall mood.
Bullis said jokingly one solution for the disorder could be people moving to Arizona or New Mexico. More seriously, he said, periodic tanning, light therapy and medication also could help.
Professor of psychology Don Nicholas said seasonal affective disorder was hard to explain because it was a description of symptoms and not a specific disorder.
He said there were a lot of theories about it, but there is not a good understanding of what it is, even though people focus on the sun.
Lamps could help with treating the depression, Nicholas said, but there is a big difference between a potential solution and a scientific solution.
He said seasonal affective disorder should be looked at as a subtype of other forms of depression.
These other forms of depression have psychotherapy treatments with stronger research supporting it than what light therapy does, he said.
The two forms of psychotherapy are interpersonal and cognitive, he said, which could help people cope with their depression.
He said the depression was not a life-long issue, but lasted for only a matter of months.
Messner said one of the classes she teaches was a windowed classroom, which lessens the effect of the winter blues.
Computer sciences professor Van Nelson said the lack of sunlight did not visibly affect the students in his classes.
He said even when it was gray and overcast, the rooms he teaches in do not have windows, so it doesn't matter.
He said January and February were the most productive months in the year for him.
And he even begins planting plants in his house during the winter months, he said.
"I guess I get all caught up in things," he said.
Light IntensitiesLight therapy typically involves 30 to 60 minutes of 5,000 to 10,000 lux exposure. See how it compares to other sources of light.
- Outdoor in summer - 100,000 lux
- A few minutes after sunrise - 10,000 lux
- A well-lit office - 500 to 1,000 lux
- Conventional lighting - 300 to 700 lux
- Desk lamp - 100 lux
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