Originally published Sunday, December 23, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Portraits
The Indoor Sun Shoppe | Shines light on our most naked of needs
We chat with Jerry Addington, an expert in horticulture, light therapy and carnivorous plants at the Indoor Sun Shoppe in Fremont.
On winter solstice in Seattle, daylight lasts a mere 8 hours, 25 minutes and 14 seconds. No wonder 1 in 10 Seattleites suffers from full-blown Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter depression, carb craving, hibernation instinct) while another 10 to 20 percent wallow in winter blues. We chat with Jerry Addington, an expert in horticulture, light therapy and carnivorous plants at the Indoor Sun Shoppe in Fremont.
Q: The theory behind light therapy?
A: Basically, we're all naked apes, none of us more than 50,000 years out of Africa. Part of our genome is still singing the old savannah song of sunshine and warmth of the African plains. We're culturally adapted to living here because we have clothing and shelter, but I'm not sure we're completely psychologically matched to a climate like this.
As a species, we live in concrete warrens like human naked mole rats, cut off from diurnal signals, seasonal signals which we've had an organic relationship with for centuries.
Light therapy can get us going with the natural rhythms.
Q: Plugging something into an outlet seems less than natural.
A: It'd be better if we adapted to the natural rhythms of the winter, but we can't. We have to get up and get in our cars to go somewhere. Light therapy may be . . . the difference between getting through the winter in the Northwest and feeling oppressed. It's a crutch.
Q: What about placebo effect?
A: Is it placebo effect on a cloudy, gray day when the sun breaks through the clouds and you get a lift? We are looking to experience that lift of the spirits that people get from the sun.
Q: I notice you're wearing a brimmed hat indoors.
A: I tend to get headaches with the light coming from all directions. Besides, I don't have much up here to protect me.
The light therapy has not stimulated any hair follicles, I can tell you that.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
The local, public face of Chase, Phyllis Campbell is trading on trust
Wine Adviser: 'Pocket Wine Book' slips into sloppy
Northwest Living: A Whidbey Island château would suit hobbits, too
Destinations: Sikkim offers an otherworldly experience to trekkers
Plant Life: Hedgerows offer variety and shelter to urban gardens

Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Ken Auletta talks about Google with Brier Dudley at the Seattle Central Library.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect
- Lt. governor's son shot by co-worker in Kent; gunman then shot self
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say
- Prosecutors consider charges against suspect in police shooting
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- Steve Kelley | Hasselbeck gives Seahawks' sagging season a stay of execution
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- Trucker dies as big-rig plummets off SF bridge
- Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
261 - House health bill unacceptable to many in Senate
261 - Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
201 - McGinn more than doubles his lead over Mallahan
169 - King County OKs 'don't ask' law on immigration
132 - Resolute Fort Hood soldiers ready for return
128 - 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
83 - Time to bring Ken Griffey Jr. back in 2010
83 - Josh Smith picks UCLA
82 - Cutaia says replay handled properly on Austin TD
71
- For 80-year-old Maple Valley man, hoops aren't just a dream
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Silver Lake restaurant destroyed by fire
- Pakistani-American cafe, bar owner on verge of being Granite Falls mayor
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
- All You Can Eat | Fruit flies: thrill to the kill
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- Taste | Ruth Reichl still reigns as queen of America's culinary scene








