Do blind people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder?

The answer is “Yes!”

Your question intrigued me. I didn’t know the answer, so I did a little research. I found this article on a Scientific American Q&A page.

Great find. I had searched before but never found anything close to satisfactory. I didn’t realize there are other light-detecting cells and it seems like they were recently discovered.

@Yetanotheruser Great article.

Interesting! I figured since our bodies make Vitamin D from sunlight it was possible our skin sent signals to our brain. The test mentioned in this article proved my assumption was incorrect. I love science!

Awesome. Also very interested in the article.

Anecdotal tale: two woman at the assisted living facility I work at are blind. One smoked outside every summer. She would sit outside for hours. She was much more resilient and happier in the summer time. In the winter she gave up smoking and the light was gone. She would get asthma and sinitius and generally health speaking wise would fare less well, her mood would drop but over all she was More positive then negative. More adaptable.

The second lady stayed indoors and disliked her curtain being open. She could see light and dark and shadows. She has been blind for 15 years but hasn’t adapted the trauma of losing her vision and her joy for life is frozen she is in a state of perpetual grief.

Of course there are too many other variables to put to much weight on the two women’s reactions. But I find it interesting none the less. The sugary and starchy thing is present in all of us Alaskans and its established we “hibernate” in the winter.

Nice to know why.