I've suffered from SAD since I was a little kid and it wasn't until I started growing that it just went away. I didn't grow 2007 and it came back like a bitch but last year I did and I was fine in fact I was chirpier than in summer.

I think it's a combination of the strong lighting and watching the development of the plants from babies that helps trick your mind into thinking it's spring/summer. I find spending just 10 minutes a day works wonders and far better than those lights they have.

Anyone else suffer? What have your experience's been.

I don't suffer from SAD but I'd be willing to bet large money that it isn't coincidence that since growing your own you suffer it less because of the amount of midnight sun you're getting from your plants (i.e. HID lighting is stimulating your pineal gland, giving you the endorphins...I think that's how it works, but double check it).

The counter argument unfortunately is that you could easily get that kind of medical benefit from growing tomatoes indoors....so I wouldn't push the argument too hard, but it's awesome that you are getting clinical benefit from your lighting

GN

I don't suffer either, anymore than anyone else does when its always dark and cold, although i have used a rather large daylight CFL (all those SAD lamps are, afaik) in the room i spend most time in for some years as i just didnt get on well with spending time in here under warm whites.. but You should consider some way of factoring this benefit in as extra efficiency when calculating your grams per watt.

As for your experience? why not? light helps the human body with certain vitamins, and for a SAD sufferer you're getting more summer style light than before, i'd say it probably could help.. @ that as a legal defence.. i'd love to be a fly on the wall in the court "i grow weed because the lamps help my SAD" is pulled


hmm... just a thought.. i'm stoned so might be way out but.. could daylight cfl lighting be of benefit to the housebound and those who dont get out often, being closer to sunlight spectrally? i love mine, easier on the eyes when you're reading or using a computer, warm whites are depressing, man. daylights seem to throw their light better too in this room and in the garage although that's a 36w 6500k T8..

I worked in an artificially lit environment for a while. Unfortunately no thought had gone into light spectrums etc
& in the winter the standing joke was that we were like Mushrooms.. kept in the dark & fed shit
Go to work in the dark & come home in the dark.. we were all like pasty depressed SADos... shocks!
As a grower u can pop ur head into the sunshine & spend some time in ur sunny garden

Body gets fucked up by light shortage, melatonin the bastard!!

Great chart....but

"22.30 Bowel movement suppressed"

Yeah, right

GN

Interesting nice looking chart Coops.. nice one

wonder what / who the model was?

Hi tutu

my friend suffered from this but he claims (and it certainly does seem to be the case) that over the past 2 years he has taken Vit D and Niacin, apparently D is the sunshine vitamin and niacin both have easing effects on depression and anxiety. Niacin will give you a flushing effect on the skin but this is a good thing as it draws impurities that are stored in subcutaneous fat.

May be worth a bash mate

Personally I've suffered with seasonal changes in mood (SAD I guess) plus major depression for the last 4 years, started taking Vitamin D-3 - 5,000 IU a day over a month back & must say has been a MASSIVE positive change in mood & big decrease in sleeping (certainly more than placebo), overall feeling very clear, feels like what I'd imagine a low dose of speed might be like most days, energy bouncing about inside as opposed to feeling literally dead months ago. Perhaps a coincidence I dunno, but everything has improved greatly.

Edit: Just to add I don't take any medication for it allopathic or otherwise, once tried anti ds for just over a month & made me feel entirely disconnected from my body & void of any feelings whatsoever, not pleasant.

If I ever quit Dope I shall still grow Chilli's I'm sure under 600w's not for the yield but because I do genuinely feel happier with something under HID lighting. I had a look this morning and came out in the cold air and it still felt like Summer to me.

When people say what happened to summer I put it in my closet!

Same, I get real low/lazy and my energy goes in winter.

Last winter was ok, cold and bright here, no rain at all really...Its the WET/DARK foul fucking English winters that kill me.

Oddly in 2005 I grew in the winter, same room I worked in Almost constant indirect HPS light all day.

I came out into 2006 feeling fucking awesome.

Sadly it's been all downhill again since then, lucky I have a grow-room now I spend ages sitting in there often working on laptop

I feel better already

I think it helps...I know it helps.

I'll look into those vitamins, I get really kicked in the head come December, by mid Jan/Feb I am ready to jump off a bridge if its one of those wet,damp, winters...

Spring comes I am on my bicycle, by summer I am riding 75miles in one go without stops!

Life is so two sided I hate winter. It's like recovering all summer knowing I am gonna destroy myself in winter...

Quite used it by now!

Huuuge mega doses of a good vitamin B complex has been shown to work in a lot of cases, also St Johns Wort.

OMG - I haven't been diagnosed, but I used to get very depressed every year from mid October and wondered if it was SAD. For the last couple of years I've been OK, and it was 2 years ago I started growing. But I never connected the two until I read this thread.

I don't have an indoor grow atm, and it's still a bit early for me to feel down, so I'll see how I feel at the end of the month.

Get 1000w of HPS and 8 cheese clones you won't feel depressed I guarantee it.

ye i suffer with it and my mrs keeps telllin me to use my sad light cause ive been really lazy an tired for the last two weeks but i didnt think about my grow light trouble is i work away from home most of the time an i only get a chance to see my babys 2 or 3 times a week i tell people about the condition an they just look at me an there probably thinking stop smokin the shit it really dont help that i work constant night shifts either as i start work a half four at night an finish at seven in the morning i dont see much daylight at all roll on the spring nice to speak to a fellow SAD person

got a stash of the cheese here this really is the good shit