Seasonal affective disorder’s effects more severe for some
seniors January 18, 2010 · 1:10 PM By Mary Andrews When October
rolls around the bears all disappear, easing their way into
their dens. They curl up and prepare to snooze away the winter.
There are lots of us who wish we could snooze away the days from
October until April, too. In winter, most of us dislike the dark
mornings and the shorter days; for some, the effects are more
severe than just dislike, especially from December through
February. This truly is a medical problem. It was described in
medical journals as far back as 1845, including a sea captain’s
report in his log that his men could not seem to get their jobs
done when they sailed near Norway in winter, but were energetic
a week later when they sailed into a port in Italy. True
research into the problem did not begin until the 1980s. There
are three names for this condition: seasonal affective disorder,
winter depression and winter blues. While men can have this
condition, it is seen most