The new time change implemented this year as part of president Bush’s Energy Policy Act has some people feeling blue, according to an online Los Angeles Times report.

People suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD)—as many as 6 in 10 Americans have it—could be feeling overly depressed by the recently enacted time change. SAD can make a normally alert person overly tired, which researchers believe may be caused by the body’s reaction to a lack of sunlight during winter months. But hasn’t the time change resulted in longer daylight hours? It has, but according to the article, it is the later sunrise and the resulting morning darkness that could exacerbate depression affiliated with SAD. “It’s the early morning light exposure that allays the symptoms of winter depression,” said Michael Terman, director of New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms, in his interview with the Los Angeles Times.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Though the time change could have people feeling down, those feeling depressed should not lose hope. SAD can be treated with light therapy devices that help manage circadian rhythms, the article explains.

While the disorder is treatable, and some welcome the increased daylight, not all are convinced the time change is a good idea. “I think it’s a bad move,” Dr David H. Avery, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington, told the Los Angeles Times. “The lobby on the other side that was pushing for this are people who wanted more light after work,” he said in the report. “I’m sympathetic to that. But that’s not in the best interests of society.”

Viewing the article is free, but readers must first register with the Los Angeles Times at https://www.latimes.com/services/site/registration/.