Can a pair of ‘sun ears’ really cure the winter blues?
Half of us suffer from low moods in winter. Now Scandi experts claim a revolutionary new gadget that lights up our brains could raise our spirits . . .
My 11-year-old daughter is pestering me to go the shops. She’s doing an art project on tartan design and has run out of a crucial item.
‘Best not,’ I say. ‘It’s getting very late.’ Then I look at my watch. It’s only 4.30pm.
I moved from the south of england to the Scottish Highlands nearly three years ago and, each winter, for the first few weeks after the clocks change, my body is completely thrown by the falling daylight levels. I find myself entering a kind of hibernation mode, which sees me getting sleepy as soon as it gets dark.
By the time the winter solstice arrives on december 22, those of us in Northern Scotland will be getting a meagre six hours and 35 minutes of sunlight a day, compared with seven hours and 49 minutes in london.
and, yes, I miss it. I’m not convinced I have full-blown Sad (Seasonal affective disorder), but, along with around 50 per cent of the UK population, I do tick a few boxes for a milder form, often referred to as ‘subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder’, or the ‘winter blues’.
Symptoms include a lack of energy, fatigue, sleeping for longer than usual and craving carbohydrates.
enter the gloriously named HumanCharger. This new gadget takes light replacement (a treatment for Sad) to the next technological level — by shining light through your skull.
We’re all familiar with light boxes, used to treat Sad, but, for many, their inconvenience outweighs their usefulness.
I tried one but found it impossible to slot into a busy day, as you have to sit close to it for an hour and something would always distract me. The HumanCharger device (£175, european. humancharger.com/ uk) removes the nuisance factor entirely. Invented in Finland, it’s a calibrated white-lightemitting device that stimulates the photosensitive receptors of the brain.
In other words, via a pair of earbuds, it shines light through your ear canals, tissues and skull, directly to those parts of the brain that are sensitive to light. The device itself is about the size of an old-school iPod Nano, and you only have to wear the earbuds for 12 minutes a day.
The manufacturers make big claims for it, promising to increase your alertness, improve your energy levels, enhance your mood and give you better cognitive performance (reaction speed and concentration) — all in about five days of use.
It can also be used to combat jet lag, plus the white light is UV-free, so it’s safer than real sunlight.
The question is, will it work on me — a soft southerner who lives in the darker north?
day one, and I opt for the recommended dose of 12 minutes, once a day, 30 to 60 minutes after waking.
‘Whoa, Mum, what is going on with your ears!’ marvels the 11-year-old, tipping cereal into her bowl.
I run to the bathroom to see what she means. My ears are glowing! actually, not so much my ears but the bits of my skull by my ears. I join her for breakfast. ‘Cool, now the lights are moving!’ she says.
We spend the rest of the time seeing which jaw movements make the lights move most.
day two: I put a beanie over my HumanCharger, just in case someone calls at the house. I don’t want anyone to think I’ve been kidnapped by aliens.
I’m awake at 2.30am on day three, and I mean really awake. Buzzy awake. I consider going for a run, but it’s -4c outside.
I consult my HumanCharger instructions, which inform me that a possible side-effect is excess energy and early hours waking.
In cases like mine (around 30 per cent of users, apparently), it is best to use the device one to two hours prior to going to bed.
It sounds counterintuitive, but, on day four, I use the device two hours before bed and sleep like a baby. a whole nine hours.
on day five, I sleep through the night again, although I wake up at 5.45am. This is good going for me, however, and a marked improvement on a week ago.
What’s my verdict? It is always hard to know categorically that a change is down to a new device. and my symptoms do tend to correct themselves as my body gets used to the lack of light. Having said that, it doesn’t happen within the space of a week.
also, I’m writing this at 10pm — a good three hours later than when I was nodding off a week ago.
My family agrees that I’m now brighter and, well, sunnier. When I was losing my temper yesterday over the kids arguing about piano practice, the 11-year-old was heard to mutter to her older brother: ‘don’t worry, she’ll be all right once she switches her “sun ears” on.’
I take the hint and plug in my earbuds. after all, why not kill two birds with one stone?
I’ll be boasting my serotonin levels and blocking out the squabbling at the same time.