It seems that we all feel some pangs of the winter blues. But SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is an even more profound psychological condition that can really wreak havoc for some in the winter months. While this condition is not fully understood by doctors, it’s thought to be related to the amounts of melatonin and serotonin in your body.

If you feel like you’re feeling SAD or just seem to be in a bit of a cold weather funk, here are few practical steps you can take:

Phototherapy:

Research shows that more than 80 percent of those treated with bright light exposure experience relief from their SAD-related symptoms. People who were exposed to bright (10,000 lux) fluorescent light for at least 30 minutes per day showed improvement in two days to four weeks.

Recent studies suggest that SAD sufferers can receive the same benefits by walking outdoors for an hour a day. Even on overcast days, natural sunlight provides enough light to help alleviate symptoms.

Exercise:

Several studies at Duke University suggest that exercise plays a key role in recovery from depression as well as prevention of relapse. Since SAD responds to the same treatments that have been successful in relieving other types of depression, the results of these studies are relevant.

In one study, researchers found that patients who engaged in brisk exercise for 30 minutes three times weekly were just as likely to experience a decrease in their depressive symptoms as patients who were treated with medication only. Researchers then followed participants for another six months, and found that those who exercised were unlikely to experience a relapse. Only 8 percent of the exercisers became depressed again. Patients who exercised and took medication relapsed at the rate of 31 percent, and those who took medication had a 38 percent relapse rate.

If you don’t already exercise regularly, try incorporating a brisk 30-minute walk into your day three times each week. In addition to mitigating depressive symptoms, this level of activity contributes to overall physical well-being, especially cardiovascular health.

Sources of Steps: author Dawn Williams

Forgiveness is more than just an action or a concept. We all know how powerful it feels when you let go of the anger or attachment of pain when we’ve been hurt by someone’s actions. A higher love takes us over. A deep sense of relief is felt.

But did you know that there are some very practical aspects to forgiveness as well?

According to the Mayo Clinic, here are some other perks to genuinely forgiving and letting go:

Researchers have recently become interested in studying the effects of being unforgiving and being forgiving. Evidence is mounting that holding on to grudges and bitterness results in long-term health problems. Forgiveness, on the other hand, offers numerous benefits, including:

• Lower blood pressure
• Stress reduction
• Less hostility
• Better anger management skills
• Lower heart rate
• Lower risk of alcohol or substance abuse
• Fewer depression symptoms
• Fewer anxiety symptoms
• Reduction in chronic pain
• More friendships
• Healthier relationships
• Greater religious or spiritual well-being
• Improved psychological well-being

If you’re feeling old, perhaps this piece will give you a little historical perspective!

When Edo Berger received a message early last Thursday morning when a satellite detected a 10-second blast of energy known as a gamma ray burst coming from outer space.

This exploding star (above) was up to 100 times larger than our own sun.

Telescopes worldwide focused on the explosion, soon picking up infrared radiation, which is produced after gamma rays in this kind of event. Berger was ready to view the visible light, which should have followed.

It never arrived.

“We were kind of blown away. We immediately knew what that meant,” Berger said.

What it meant was that he was looking at the oldest thing ever spotted -  an enormous star exploding 13 billion years ago.

“At that point, the age of the universe was only 600 million years,” he said. In other words, Berger said, he was looking “95 percent of the way back to the beginning of time.”

The star which exploded was 30 to 100 times larger than our own sun, and when it died, it gave off “about million times the amount of energy the sun will release in its entire lifetime,” Berger told CNN by phone from Harvard University, where he is an assistant professor of astronomy.

Its death throes produced so much energy that “momentarily, we can essentially see it anywhere in the universe,” Berger said.

“We learn that already massive stars were around 600 million years after the universe formed,” Berger said. “We suspected that, but now we have proof. Now that we know these objects are so bright, in the next few years we should be able to pinpoint exactly at what stage in the evolution of the universe stars and galaxies formed.”

The gamma radiation from GRB 090423, which took 13 billion years to reach earth, was detected by a NASA satellite called Swift. The infrared radiation was detected by the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.

So go ahead. Make a wish on an extremely powerful star. While it has dissipated in space, it’s memorialized here today. Take a good look at the photo above and send your desires to the oldest star ever!

Source: CNN

8-year old Felix Pepin had a crash course in driving…luckily not literally!

His mother, Dahianara Sanchez, who suffers from diabetes, started experiencing dangerously low blood sugar while driving her car several weeks ago through West Reading, Pennsylvania. Suddenly, she lost her sight

“All of a sudden my vision started going a little bit flaky and I told Felix, ‘I’m losing my vision,’” Dahianara said.

Felix then jumped into action, giving his mom verbal driving instructions.

“I told her which lane to go in and which lane not to go in,” Felix said.

The vehicle traveled several blocks before Felix discovered a spot to pull over. That’s when Dihianara finally blacked out.

“I put the car in park and I took my mom’s phone and dialed 911,” Felix said.

“When asked how it feels to be a hero, Felix replied it was scary at first, but now it makes him feel happy.”

Ah, a reluctant hero…that’s what all good stories are about!

Most of us are painfully unaware of our bodies…unless there’s something wrong with them. We don’t realize that our body holds a tremendous amount of power. The way you use it sends out subtle cues to all those around you. If you are walking around, slumped shoulders, head down, eyes cast to the ground, you may not be sending the most positive messages to the world.

This is a real “outside in” approach. It has nothing to do with The Secret or New Age philosophies. Changing your physicality is a simple, practical method that can make some very direct changes to your life.

First, take a good, hard look in front of the mirror. Don’t impose any adjustments. Look at yourself “as is.” What impressions does your physicality send? Closed off? Sad? Receptive?

Then make some minor adjustments; nothing too much. Just some subtle changes. Pull your shoulder back a little more. Open up your chest. Open your throat area (an area we can often close off without noticing.) Take a deep breath. Center and ground yourself.

These steps may seem minor but they’re not at all. Your body is intricately tied to your psyche. This has been known for century upon century. But all this time in front of a computer takes you away from yourself, on a very core level.

Luckily simple changes can make a big difference.

Today, hold you head up. Open your chest and your throat area. Feel the vulnerability and conversely, the strength.

Today, be in your body.

Sometimes it takes one person’s undying focus and energy to make a change. In this case William Kamkwamba was just such a man, or 14-year old boy, as the case was. Living in a small town in Malawi with no electricity, William was determined to power his family’s home with used parts and ingenuity…and a little education.

“An organization called the Malawian Teacher Training Activity contributed a large quantity of books to the primary school library near my home,” William said. “One of the books was called Using Energy. Inside there were plans for a windmill so I decided to build one to provide power for my family.”

In particular, he was deeply concerned for his sister’s health.

“She was coughing from the candles,” William explained. “They smoke and they are dangerous.

The villagers at first laughed at his efforts:

When I was making [the windmill], all these people were mocking me, saying I was going mad but I had confidence in what I was doing because I knew that if it was written in the book, then it was true and possible.”

Using found parts such as wooden poles, broken pipes, old shoes, copper wire and even his father’s old bicycle, William went to work. William’s first official windmill generated enough energy to light one room!

William, now 20, was recently made a Fellow at TEDGlobal which is a conference that brings together exceptional people from the three worlds of Technology, Entertainment and Design. He now intends to further his work and help his entire village, as well as becoming a celebrity in his own right:

“When I first met him,” relays Tom Rielly, Partnership Director of TED Conferences, “I was struck by his intelligence and ingenuity. He has overcome both the lack of access to education and the lack of monetary resources to set a great example for young people everywhere by making life better for his family. Now all his sisters and he can read at night, listen to the radio and watch television, helping to make them part of the wider world. He inspires me everyday.”

Website: www.williamkamkwamba.com

To watch ‘How I built my family a windmill’ on the TED video channel:
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/william_kamkwamba_on_building_a_windmill.html