Can you really beat the winter blues in 15 mins?
A new therapy says you can - and the secret’s in your sense of smell
THe first time I visited my boyfriend in the West Highlands of Scotland, it was midsummer and I was astounded by the fact it simply didn’t get dark.
What hadn’t occurred to me until I moved up there last spring was that the opposite is true in winter — while London enjoys eight hours of light in the colder months, in edinburgh it’s just seven, and 100 miles further north, it’s starting to feel more like two.
It’s dark when I get up, dark when I finish work, and some days, now the clocks have gone back, I feel like an undersea creature groping about in inky blackness.
I’m also aware that most winters I experience a mild form of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and that this far north I’m staring at a serious case of it. The scenery may be spectacular and the nearby icy loch breathtaking — but they can’t dig me out of my gloom.
According to sad. org. uk, the charity that helps sufferers, one cause of the affliction is our indoor jobs. A century ago, 75 per cent of people worked outdoors; now it’s just 10 per cent.
For me, SAD manifests as general weariness, a lack of joy and an increased appetite for stodgy stuff. Others report disrupted moods, plummeting energy levels and serious sleep disturbances.
When my alarm goes off, my heart sinks. I’m constantly tired, gloomy and irritable, and my craving for crisps and pasta affects my waistline.
Light regulates our natural, circadian rhythms. Without it, the necessary hormones aren’t triggered and our bodies respond badly — we’re unable to wake easily, crave carbohydrates and badly lack energy.
And in some cases, it can develop into full-blown depression. Recent statistics suggest it affects as many as one in 15 people severely, and one in three to some extent. SOMe
cases are so severe that sufferers can barely function during the winter months. Until recently, cures were limited to special lamps that replicate daylight, but often with limited results.
Now Dr Tim Jacobs, a professor of bioscience at cardiff University, has developed a device that could help sufferers without medication, therapy or spending hours a day crouched over a lightbox.
Kodobio Sensory Therapy is a curved screen that sits over the user’s face and emits alternating light and scent. And Professor Jacobs insists that just 15 minutes weekly can cure depression, particularly SAD.
To me, the use of scent therapy sounds like a potential gamechanger. ‘For many years I researched how the human sense of smell works and how it can influence mind and body,’ says Professor Jacobs.
‘Increasingly, evidence emerged showing the beneficial effects of smell and how it can change mood.
‘Then about ten or 12 years ago I came across SAD and bright light therapy and thought: “Why not put the two together?” ’
Kodobio delivers scent and light stimulation on a 60-second cycle. Apparently, it affects the balance of the hormones melatonin (which helps you sleep) and serotonin (thought to be a mood stabiliser).
‘ The cyclical nature has a stimulating effect — bright light alters the melatonin- serotonin balance,’ says Professor Jacobs.
‘SAD sufferers feel blue in the winter because there is an increase in melatonin and a decrease of serotonin. So a blast of bright light helps to boost the serotonin. We also identified the scents that verifiably have an effect on mood.’
The results, he says, are astonishing. ‘The mix of light and smell lowers blood pressure and heart rate. Using a skin resistance measurement to test stress levels, we’ve seen a very significant reduction in anxiety.’
The aromas are derived from essential oils — ‘ uplifting’ uses citrus scents, ‘ energising’ pepper- mint, and ‘ relaxing’ relies on lavender. The light used is equivalent to midday sunlight.
‘It’s the same type of bright light stimulation used by SAD lights,’ says Professor Jacob. ‘ But in the Kodobio it’s fluctuated to maintain varied brain stimulation.’
It all sounds highly scientific — but on my way to try the therapy at London’s MichaelJohn salon (where the treatment is being trialled before going nationwide next year), I wasn’t fully convinced.
The £ 35 experience takes 15 minutes, and while lying down having lights and smells wafted at me sounded pleasant, it didn’t sound life-changing.
In the treatment room, I lay down fully dressed and the machine was positioned over my face like a benign alien. Once the curved screen was in place, I could see nothing else. The therapist slotted in a citrus capsule, for an uplifting mood, and discreetly left me to it.
Gradually, the light in front of my eyes brightened. I kept them wide open (though you can shut them and it still works), but it wasn’t dazzling. The light brightened and dimmed, a pleasant grapefruit scent wafted by and it felt as though several hours had passed.
Before the treatment, I’d filled in a card, ticking the numbers that matched my mood — they had all been hovering around neutral.
As I sat up, the therapist asked me again and I rattled off much higher scores. I did feel happier — not euphoric, just content. BAcK
in Scotland a day or so later, the alarm shrilled and I rolled over, fully expecting the usual resistance to getting up. It didn’t happen.
I went about my morning routine feeling perfectly content. It wasn’t a sunny day, and I only managed a trot around the field with my dog at lunchtime, but even as darkness fell shortly after lunch, my mood remained upbeat.
In the days since, I’ve noticed my longing for piles of pasta has eased, I’m less grumpy and more upbeat.
I would love a top-up — Professor Jacobs suggests a minimum of three treatments because, he says, the effect builds as the brain learns to recognise the light and reset instantly to ‘happy’.
He does, however, admit that even one treatment session can make a significant difference.
Frankly, I’m amazed — but if it really is as simple as boosting serotonin through light and scent, from November to April, there should be a Kodobio machine in every house in Britain.