COLUMN Musings and Mishaps

Author: Lindsay Whitton

In the winter during high school, my friend Libby would often nap for a few hours a day. This was a strange occurrence in the context of our structured, boarding school life, where every moment was programmed and nobody had anytime for themselves. We were surprised at her sleep schedule, and she was surprised at our surprise.

We lived on the same hall, and I would stop by to rouse her for class, dinner, assembly or co-curricular activities, but she would create convincing excuses -- mumbling that her coach had said to skip practice, her teacher had canceled Latin or that the health center nurses had sent her back to her room to recover. Hours later, when she arose, she wouldn't remember our conversation.

Eventually, Libby was diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a condition with symptoms that include general lethargy, sadness, increase or loss of appetite, lack of motivation and the urge to sleep constantly. Doctors and researchers attribute SAD to lack of sunlight, explaining why symptoms usually appear in the fall, peak during the winter and subside in the spring. Some people, however, who work or live in rooms with no windows, experience similar symptoms throughout the year.

During a Middlebury winter, people are at risk of suffering from SAD due to the lack of daylight, and this winter the record breaking cold temperatures may increase the risk by forcing people indoors. Although 70 to 80 percent of the estimated 10 million Americans SAD suffers are women, many of them over the age of 30, there is an even greater number of people who suffer from the "Winter Blues," a milder but similar condition.

While light therapy and anti-depression medication can effectively battle the blues, most doctors agree that the ideal treatment is an hour of sunlight a day, especially when combined with exercise. The Middlebury environment provides outlets for outdoor winter exercise ranging from skiing to simply walking to class. Such solutions are easier to preach then practice, however -- I know that I have no desire to walk around when it is 20 degrees outside, let alone ski for five hours, and I don't even have SAD decreasing my motivation.

But as for Libby, she made it through boarding school, doing much better than those of us who went to all of the required activities in the winter, and she is now sleeping happily through cold winter afternoons at Yale.