CATHY HEYING REPAIRING BRAKES, MUFFLERS, AND DIGNITY

“We don’t invest in vehicles if the transmission is gone or there is catastrophic rust in structural areas,” Heying says. “People sometimes beg us to do it, but we draw a hard line. It’s a matter of liability and conscience.”

Besides repairing automobiles, the garage offers a free prepurchase inspection program, so people can have a used car evaluated before they buy it. That saves a lot of heartaches and costly repairs in the long run. The Lift Garage also has a mobile van with a crew that does small repairs onsite at people’s homes and examines broken-down cars to see if they’re worth towing to the shop.

A Look at the Ledger

The finances of the organization have always been solid because the nonprofit has scaled its growth properly, says Atom Robinson, a longtime friend of Heying’s and original board member. “But every year when we pass the budget, we know there are more needs in Minnesota than we can meet.”

Customers pay $15 an hour for labor and get parts at cost. “They pay a third of what they’d pay for the same repair in a marketrate garage,” Heying says. The garage is open to anyone in Minnesota whose income meets 150 percent of Federal Poverty Guidelines or below, which is roughly $20,000 or less for a household of one and $26,000 or less for a household of two, she says. Customers provide proof that they qualify for the services—often a food stamp card is enough. “We make it as barrier-free as possible.”

Operating the business costs about $120,000 a month, with $25,000 to $30,000 coming from earned income and the rest covered by donations and fundraising, Heying says. “It costs us the same to run our garage as the commercial one down the street,” she adds. “We have the same overhead with insurance, mortgage, equipment, staff, and shop supplies.”

“We don’t get any government funding,” says Heying. “The money we have is privately raised through individuals and company donations and fundraising events.”

Individual donors contribute about 60 percent of funds. “I have a nun who gives us $5 a month,” says Heying, “and another person who gives $100,000 a year, but the majority of our donors give $100 to $200 annually.”

The Payoff

One single mom who worked for a social service agency brought in a vehicle someone from her church had given her, Heying says. “We got the car safe and running, and she stopped by later to tell us she was able to take a job as a case manager because she had a car.” It was music to Heying’s ears when the customer told her, “I don’t qualify for your services anymore because I make too much.” DuVal says Heying is inspiring: “I believe in her, and I will do whatever it takes to help the folks she’s helping. She’s just that giving.”

Board member Robinson agrees. “She is one of the biggesthearted people I’ve ever met. A lot of us have great ideas and think we can help people in need and change the world, but it takes a special person to stick with it and do it.”

The Lift Garage is valued by the community, Robinson says. “Our donors are deeply invested, and the staff is top-notch. [Heying] is an outstanding boss and an excellent community leader. The staff might make more money if they were working in a private garage, but they believe in our mission.”

As for Heying, “I would never have guessed my life would be here at The Lift Garage, but I don’t regret it,” she says. She feels lucky at the end of the day. “I am proud of myself for not giving in to the fear and all the reasons that I should not have done this,” she says. “It has been an astounding journey.” [Cathy] is one of the biggest-hearted people I’ve ever met. A lot of us have great ideas and think we can help people in need and change the world, but it takes a special person to stick with it and do it.” Atom Robinson

THE LIFT GARAGE

The Lift Garage is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit aimed at moving people out of poverty and homelessness by providing low-cost car repair, free prepurchase car inspections, and honest advice that supports the local community. The Lift Garage specializes in brakes, tires, suspensions, steering, starting and charging systems, fuel systems, exhaust systems, and heating systems. In addition to low-cost car repair, the garage offers express services to replace light bulbs, wiper blades, and batteries, along with free regularly scheduled car-care classes.

2401 East Lake Street Minneapolis, MN 55406 612.866.5840 theliftgarage.org

Extending Compassion Amid Chaos

In May 2020, during the unrest following the death of George Floyd after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cathy Heying and the staff of The Lift Garage offered protesters the same grace that they offer customers every day. “Several days and nights, we were here guarding the space,” says Heying. “If we saw someone walking up with clear intentions of harming the building, I would say, ‘Hey, could I help you?’ They’d say, ‘Is this your building? Sorry, man.’ And off they’d go.”

Heying says the Arby’s next door, which is 10 feet away, burned down to the ground one evening. “The wind was in our favor that night,” says Heying about narrowly escaping residual damages from the fire. However, her nonprofit auto repair shop was not entirely spared.

The Lift Garage was broken into, she says. “And the mobile van the crew uses to do small repairs on-site at people’s homes was broken into and robbed.” But, Heying says, “compared to most of our neighbors, we survived [the protests] quite well.”

Shortly after, a reporter from the largest newspaper in Minnesota, the Star Tribune, was onsite writing about the damage. As she cleaned up the rubble from the night before, Heying told the reporter it was her hope “to expand her garage to help more people after the Black Lives Matter protests.”

Fossil finders

by Jeanne Lee

It doesn’t take a professional to find a fossil, even a very rare or old one.

Amateur—or accidental—fossil hunters around the world have made astonishingly significant paleontological discoveries. Last January, 4-yearold Lily Wilder was walking her dog on a Welsh beach with her father when she noticed an unusual footprint. What she’d spotted, embedded in a rock at the height of her shoulder, turned out to be a trace fossil from a Triassicperiod dinosaur that lived 220 million years ago. Lily will receive official credit for the amazing scientific find when the fossil goes on display at the National Museum Cardiff in the UK.

Some 30 years ago, an amateur fossil collector named Kathy Wankel made a breathtaking find while camping with her family at the Fort Peck Reservoir in Montana. On a rocky island where they were boating, she saw the corner of a bone sticking out of a bank.

A month later, she was able to chip out a set of long bones and take them to the nearby Museum of the Rockies. Experts there identified them as something very rare indeed: the first arm bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex that had ever been found. The discovery led to the eventual excavation of an almost complete skeleton, and Wankel’s T. rex now resides at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Finding a fossil in the wild—and putting your own hands on physical prehistoric remains—is a thrilling way to connect with Earth’s deep past. Collecting fossils is also an absorbing, addictive activity, one that is available to almost anyone and can make you feel like a kid digging up buried treasure. Fossils are found in many parts of the U.S., including slabs and chunks of petrified wood in the West, ancient shark and megalodon teeth along the East Coast shorelines, and exquisite ammonite shells in the Great Plains and other regions.

A Lesson on Common Fossils

Ammonites. Shells of squidlike creatures that were plentiful in the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods can be less than an inch in size or up to nine feet wide. They swam in the oceans that once covered the Great Plains of North America, the Himalayas, and Antarctica, until they were extinguished along with the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

Brachiopods. Commonly preserved in rocks such as limestone, sandstone, or mudstone that formed from marine sediments, these fossils look like clams, though they aren’t actually closely related to modern mollusks. They were so abundant in the Paleozoic Era that they formed part of the ancient reefs.

The best fossil-hunting grounds are areas where the topsoil has been cut or weathered away—like dry creek beds, rocky outcrops, sea cliffs, beaches at low tide, or riverbanks. Old quarries are a great place to look for fossils since the underlying rock has been exposed.

in Corals. Coral fossils are found around the world, and some specimens are more than 500 million years old. Corals are relatives of sea anemones and jellyfish that secrete calcium carbonate to form their exoskeletons. The beautiful patterns of their bodies are found in fossilized form.

Shark teeth. The teeth of the giant megalodon, a relative of the modern great white shark and the largest fish ever known, are the state fossil of North

Carolina. Fossilized shark teeth—which turn black in the mineralization process—are plentiful in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Florida.

A collection of 80-million-year-old specimens was recently discovered in the remains of an Iron Age house at an archaeological site in Jerusalem, evidence of how timelessly fascinating they are to collectors.

Petrified wood. Petrified wood can be so well preserved and detailed that the bark and woody structures of the ancient tree are clearly recognizable. Sometimes, collectors don’t realize that they are fossils rather than recently felled branches until they pick them up and feel their weight.

How to Hunt for Fossils

Look in the right kind of rock. Fossils are formed only when an animal or plant is rapidly submerged and preserved, which means they’re mainly found in sedimentary rock, such as shale or sandstone, that has horizontal layers like pancakes. If you search in igneous or metamorphic rock, which has been subjected to extreme heat and pressure that destroys any animal or plant matter, you’ll be wasting your time.

The best fossil-hunting grounds are areas where the topsoil has been cut or weathered away—like dry creek beds, rocky outcrops, sea cliffs, beaches at low tide, or riverbanks. Old quarries are a great place to look for fossils since the underlying rock has been exposed.

Train your eyes. Prepare for your search by looking at images of fossils you’re likely to find in your search area on museum and university websites. Learn the telltale patterns of marine creatures and plants, since most fossils are sea creatures that lived in the ancient oceans.

Consult local experts. Ask a local museum, nature center, university geology department, or fossil club to find out about fossil-rich areas, established dig sites, and rules for hunting and collecting. Budding rockhounds can also search for fossil clubs near them on Google, check an online interactive map of national fossil clubs at myfossil.org/paleosocieties, or seek out a fossil meetup group.

Gather your tools. You can spot fossils with just your eyes and some luck, but there are some optional items that might be helpful, starting with a hammer, such as a bricklayer’s hammer, a chisel, a small shovel, and a mesh screen for rinsing loose gravel. Have newspaper or tissue on hand to wrap fragile specimens and a pencil and paper for labeling and taking notes. Hunters will typically carry these items, along with a magnifying glass, gloves, and a map of the dig site in a backpack. If you’re going to be chiseling or hammering, safety glasses are recommended as well as a hard hat if any rocks overhead could be unstable. Remember to wear comfortable shoes and pack some water and snacks to keep your energy up.

Know the rules. Every state has its own laws governing fossils, permits, and collection, so be sure to do your research. Some fossil sites charge admission fees or have rules about what tools you can use or how much material you can take for yourself. On private property, you’ll need to get permission from the owner before you remove or collect any fossils.

If you spot something that may be a fossil, take your time to determine your next move. Act slowly and deliberately to avoid damaging it.

Keep in mind that taking any natural objects, including fossils, from national parks is illegal. On other federal land, such as land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service, you are permitted to take small amounts of common, invertebrate fossils or petrified wood for personal use (not for sale), but you can’t collect any amount of vertebrate fossils without a special permit.

Getting Started

When fossil hunting at a quarry or rocky outcrop, it’s best to get really close to the rock and look carefully for spiral patterns or shell prints. A magnifying glass can be helpful. Sit or kneel down in one place at a time, and examine them for patterns or details. If you spot something that may be a fossil, take your time to determine your next move. Act slowly and deliberately to avoid damaging it.

To get at a fossil that’s embedded in rock, you can chisel carefully all the way around it—always pointing the tool away from the fossil. The best way is to carve out a chunk of material, like a pillar, that contains the whole specimen. Then, strike at the base of the pillar to break it off. Another method, if you have a very fossiliferous chunk, is to tap with a hammer until the rock breaks away around the fossils, according to the Illinois State Geological Survey Prairie Research Institute.

However, if you find a high-quality fossil that you don’t think you can remove without damage, consider leaving it in place and taking photos only. That way, it will be preserved and may naturally loosen from the rock over time.

Label your finds, and make a note of the exact locations they were found. This information is part of the story of the fossil. At home, you can clean your fossils with a soft brush, soap and water, or a short vinegar soak. Photographing the fossil from many angles is a good idea, as it will make it easy to share your story online or with a fossil club.

For those who want to jump headfirst into fossil hunting, consider joining a paleontology-themed field trip. For example, the Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute offers an exciting opportunity to work alongside scientists in the fossil-rich and rugged landscapes of Southern Montana and Northern Wyoming.

Amateur fossil hunters can also get up close and personal with incredible prehistoric creatures from the comfort of their couches. The Smithsonian National Museum of History allows virtual visitors to explore either in a web browser or in virtual reality. While you’re there, make sure to check out the 31,000-square-foot David H. Koch Hall of Fossils to explore ancient ecosystems and visit over 700 fossil specimens, including a Tyrannosaurus rex, Diplodocus, and woolly mammoth.

Fossil hunting is a great way to expend some pent-up wanderlust, embrace your inner scientist, and perhaps even collect some bragging rights. And why not? Budding fossil hunters of all ages and walks of life are uncovering an array of paleontological treasures each and every day.

TECH TOOLS FOR THE HUNT

Rockhounds can lean on a wealth of websites and apps to help them tap into the fossil community. Here are a few options. • Digital Atlas of Ancient Life. An openaccess online textbook about fossils and the history of life on Earth. digitalatlasofancientlife.org.

• Digital Atlas of Ancient Life app. A free online field guide to fossils based on content from the website, available on

Android and iOS.

• MyFossil. A social paleontology app where you can add your fossils to a collaborative database, available on Android and iOS. • The Fossil Forum. An online community for fossil experts and enthusiasts with a Fossil

ID feature that allows you to post a picture of your fossil for others to comment on. thefossilforum.com.

PRIORITIZING RETIREMENT SAVINGS

by Neil Downing

Saving for retirement? Rather than take a scattershot approach, save methodically, using a road map known as the retirement savings waterfall, or the retirement savings hierarchy. It can show you which steps to take, the order in which to take them, and how you may benefit.

First Step Figure One: Tax Preferences of Common Savings Vehicles

Start saving through your 401(k) or similar retirement plans at work. Such plans typically let you save conveniently and automatically through payroll deduction, and they offer certain tax advantages to encourage your participation.

Figure One shows a breakdown of the tax advantages that apply to 401(k) plans as well as the other retirement savings vehicles mentioned in this article.

Start saving as soon as possible. “The first dollars you save for retirement are the most productive,” says CAPTRUST’s Steve Morton, a wealth management advisor based in Greensboro, North Carolina. This is because you have the maximum amount of time for those dollars to grow.

An added bonus: Your employer may encourage you to save by offering to match your contributions. “That’s free money,” Morton says, so be sure to take advantage.

Consider the following example.

Suppose that your gross annual pay at work is $100,000, and your employer has a retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan or a 403(b) plan. Suppose, too, that your employer offers to match 50 cents for every dollar you contribute up to a maximum of 6 percent of your pay.

In that case, Morton says, if you kick in $6,000 to the plan in a given year, your employer will put in $3,000 as a match, for a combined total of $9,000.

That’s an immediate 50 percent return on your money, Morton says. “So don’t pass it up. Once you get into the groove of saving, you won’t miss it.”

There’s a cap on the total amount you can elect to set aside in your 401(k) plan, but the limit can increase each year with inflation, says Patricia A. Thompson, former chair of the Tax Executive Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

For 2022, the total employee pre-tax and Roth contribution limit to all plans for those under 50 is projected to go up from $19,500 for 2021 to $20,500. The catch-up contribution limit should stay the same at $6,500, so if you’re age 50 or older, your 401(k) employee contribution limit should be $27,000 in 2022.1

Note that assumptions and conditions apply. Please consult your tax and financial advisors about your specific circumstances.

Roth or Not?

Your employer may give you the option to save through a designated Roth account, Morton says. It’s technically a separate account in a 401(k) or similar plan to which designated Roth contributions are made.

The chief difference involves taxes. With a regular 401(k), contributions are made with pre-tax dollars, so you get an immediate tax deduction—a further incentive to save. Withdrawals, however, are subject to tax.

With a Roth account, contributions are made from your after-tax dollars, but withdrawals are typically tax-free. In other words, with a regular 401(k), the tax break is up front; with a Roth 401(k), it’s on the back end.

A Roth 401(k) can be “a very nice rainy-day savings account,” says Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher, a research fellow at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. “If your employer offers a traditional and a Roth option, you need not choose between them,” he says. “You can save in both.”

This move helps investors diversify retirement savings from a tax perspective, winding up at retirement with two pots of money from which to draw, one containing pre-tax dollars, the other after-tax money.

Which approach you take may also depend on where you stand in the savings cycle, Morton says.

For example, if you’re just starting out in the workplace, you may only be able to afford to save enough to qualify for the full matching amount from your employer. In that case, you may want to choose the traditional 401(k) account because it’ll give you the maximum up-front tax break. If you’re in your early 50s, however, you may want to put all of your retirement savings at work into the Roth 401(k) account. Of course, your specific tax situation should also be an important part of this analysis and may lead to a different conclusion, Morton says.

Next in the retirement plan hierarchy is the health savings account, or HSA. Among its advantages:

• You can claim a federal income tax deduction for

HSA contributions even if you use the standard deduction on your federal tax return (instead of itemizing deductions).

• Growth inside the account is sheltered from tax.

• Withdrawals (also known as distributions) are free of federal income tax if they are used to pay for certain medical expenses. The list is broad, from acupuncture and ambulance services to wheelchairs and X-rays. Physician, surgeon, and dentist services count too. And because of a change in federal law through the CARES Act, tax-free withdrawals can also be used to cover over-the-counter medicine (whether or not prescribed) and menstrual care products. Withdrawals for other purposes are subject to tax and possible penalty.

• An HSA is portable. It stays with you if you change employers or leave the workforce.

Your HSA can be a valuable savings tool with some flexibility, Morton says. One strategy is to use the amount in your account to pay for medical expenses for you and your family and let your remaining HSA balance grow by selecting an appropriate investment mix, shielded from tax, he says. Another strategy is to pay all your medical expenses out of pocket, letting the entire HSA account balance grow.

Keep in mind that HSAs aren’t for everyone. For one thing, you must have a high-deductible health insurance plan to accompany it. This means that your upfront and out of pocket costs may be higher than with other health insurance plans.

You can claim a federal income tax deduction for HSA contributions even if you use the standard deduction on your federal tax return (instead of itemizing deductions). Even if you change jobs, you typically have the option to transfer your 401(k) directly to your new employer’s plan or to consolidate it in an individual retirement account (IRA) while your funds keep growing with no immediate tax consequences.

IRA Option

Another option is an IRA. With a traditional IRA, you may qualify for an income tax deduction for contributing, your account can grow on a tax-deferred basis, and your withdrawals are subject to income tax (and a penalty if you’re under 59 1/2, unless an exception applies).

With a Roth IRA, there is no up front income tax deduction for contributing, your account can grow, shielded from tax, and withdrawals of contributions are tax-free. Withdrawals of earnings may escape federal income tax if you meet certain rules—generally, if you’ve held the account for at least five years and you’re 59 1/2 or older.

For 2021, the most you may contribute overall to a traditional or Roth IRA is $6,000 (or $7,000 if you’re 50 or older). This number is projected to stay the same in 2022.

However, a potential problem involves income limits.

If you seek a federal income tax deduction for contributing to a traditional IRA, your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) for 2021 generally must be below $76,000 if you’re single and $125,000 if you’re married and file a joint return. For 2022, if you or your spouse are covered by an employer plan, these numbers are predicted to increase to $78,000 and $129,000, respectively. If you do not have access to an

Back to Work

Once you’ve put enough in your 401(k) to qualify for the full employer match and you’ve stashed away money in an HSA, consider saving even more in your 401(k). “I’d go the full boat,” Thompson says, because any additional amount you save, up to the annual maximum (generally $19,500 for 2021, with a projected amount of $20,500 for 2022) is done on a pre-tax basis, and your earnings grow on a tax-deferred basis.

Also, Thompson says, a 401(k) or other similar retirement savings plans is portable. Even if you change jobs, you typically have the option to transfer it directly to your new employer’s plan or to consolidate it in an individual retirement account (IRA) while your funds keep growing with no immediate tax consequences.

A 401(k) is not the only way to save, of course, and there are limits, too. If your plan allows for after-tax contributions you may be able to save more. For example, the 415(c) defined contribution plan maximum annual additions for all sources is projected to increase from $58,000 to $61,000 in 2022.2

Also, your employer’s plan may impose a lower limit on contributions than the law allows. If you are a manager, owner, or highly compensated employee, the plan might limit your contributions so that it passes certain required tests.

employer plan, then there are different AGI limits that determine deductibility.

For Roth IRA contributions, your federal AGI for 2021 generally must be below $140,000 if you’re single and $208,000 if you’re married and file a joint return. For 2022, these numbers are predicted to increase to $144,000 and $214,000, respectively.

These limits may increase in future years with inflation, but you still may not qualify. That’s one reason why a retirement-savings plan at work may be your first and best option. In most cases, you can contribute no matter how high your income, and you may not be eligible to contribute to an IRA anyway, based on your income.

Backdoor Roth

To sidestep income limits on regular contributions to an IRA, you may be able to make a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA, Thompson says.

Although you can’t put in more in any given year than the overall contribution limit that applies to traditional and Roth IRAs, your ability to contribute won’t be restricted based on your income, she says.

Once you’ve made the contribution, you can promptly move the money from the nondeductible IRA to a Roth IRA—a technique known as a backdoor Roth IRA. Assuming you have no other IRAs, tax will be due at that point only on the earnings, if any, in your nondeductible IRA, Thompson says. If you have other IRAs, however, the tax consequences can be more complicated.

It’s important to note that pending tax law changes may affect some of the options we’ve described. For example, the House Ways and Means Committee has proposed new measures that would prohibit Roth conversions for individuals with taxable income of more than $400,000 and married couples with taxable income of more than $450,000 as of December 1, 2031. Despite the 10-year phaseout, the policy change could immediately affect financial planning for people who have complex estates and generational transfers.

More Options

Save in a taxable account. For example, put money directly into a mutual fund or brokerage account. You won’t get a federal tax deduction, but if you invest for growth alone, your account can grow tax efficiently. Taxes are typically due only when you cash out.

If your employer allows, set aside part of your pre-tax income at work through a nonqualified deferred compensation plan, Thompson says. Tax is deferred on your contributions and earnings. Withdrawals are taxable. But be careful: The money is considered part of the general assets of your employer, subject to creditors’ claims in bankruptcy. Weigh whether to pay down any high-interest debt and then your home mortgage. “The [stock] market can go up, the market can go down, but you know what the rate is on your mortgage,” Thompson says, so you know what your rate of return will be in paying it down or paying it off.

While a retirement-savings plan at work is “a great way to save for the long-term goal of retirement,” it can be “a terrible way to save” for other long-term goals, such as college savings, Morton says.

A key issue involves liquidity, Sanzenbacher says. In exchange for the many tax advantages of a 401(k) or other such plan, you typically have limited access to your funds (until retirement or certain other life changes).

If you do make withdrawals prior to retirement, you’ll not only face federal income tax (and state tax, depending on where you live), but also a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty (depending on your circumstances), he says.

While it can be hard to figure out where to put the money you save for retirement when there are multiple types of accounts you can open, the savings hierarchy can help retirement savers prioritize. By understanding where your money should go first, and then where any extra money should be funneled, you’re making a smart decision for your future.

Keep in mind that everyone’s situation is unique. While very few people ever regret saving too much for retirement, it is always a good idea to talk to your financial advisor about a personalized strategy for your retirement savings priorities.

1 Godbout, Ted, “Major Increases Forecast for 2022 Contribution and Benefit Limits,” napa-net.org

RANDOM GLEANINGS

In making this issue, we discovered that the subject of our cover story rides a 2014 Honda CTX1300 motorcycle, that there is a TED Talk on building a dinosaur from a chicken, and that Clark Gable didn’t keep all of his Oscar statues.

100,000

The number of motorcycle-riding miles Second Act hero Cathy Heying has logged since 2000, including travels around Lake Superior, Glacier, and Yellowstone National Parks.

265

The number of miles the farthest-ranging monarch butterfly traveled in one day, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

10,000

The number of lux, a unit of illumination, health professionals recommend susceptible individuals receive for 30 minutes each morning to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD). That’s the equivalent of 1,000 streetlights.

8 out of 10

The number of people in America concerned that financial institutions and other businesses may not be able to safeguard their personal information, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

639

The number of pounds of carbon emitted per passenger flying 2,500 miles—the distance from New York to Los Angeles—according to the International Civil Aviation Organization. Clark Gable gave the Oscar he won for his performance in It Happened One Night—Rotten Tomatoes’ top movie of all time—to a child who admired it, telling him it was winning the statue that had mattered, not owning it.

Renowned paleontologist Jack Horner has been working on a project to recreate nonavian dinosaurs using their closest living relative: the chicken. Google Chickenosaurus.

SEASONAL BLUES

by Kim Painter

For some of us, the onset of fall and the approach of winter are all about the upsides: those beautiful falling leaves, the roar of football crowds, the prospect of holiday gatherings, and cozy evenings at home. But for other people, these chillier, shorter days and the seasonal loss of light are ominous. In more common and less disabling forms, people call it the winter blues. In its most extreme form, this seasonal shift is known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

So, what should VESTED readers be thinking about if the fall and winter months start to sink their spirits? For starters, get the facts. Read on to find out what experts have to say about how to recognize, treat, and maybe even prevent seasonal sadness.

What Is SAD?

SAD is a form of depression that occurs in a seasonal pattern, most often in fall and winter. The symptoms can include all the hallmarks of any depression: sadness, hopelessness, fatigue, a loss of interest in life’s pleasures, and changes in eating habits and sleeping patterns.

“People with SAD can suffer just as much as people with any other form of depression,” says Dr. Norman Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine and the man who led the team that first recognized SAD in the 1980s. “They can feel suicidal and lose their jobs and lose their relationships. It can be a big deal.”

But SAD is different from other forms of depression in some ways, says Kathryn Roecklein, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Roecklein, who has devoted her career to finding the biological, psychological, social, and environmental causes of SAD and in improving treatment, says SAD is predictable. “It happens year after year, at the same time.”

People with SAD are less likely than other depressed people to die by suicide, Roecklein says, possibly because “hopelessness is less of a problem because people know that spring will come.” She says the average bout of SAD lasts four to six months, while the average bout of nonseasonal depression lasts more than a year.

Another difference is a distinctive change in eating habits. People with SAD tend to gain weight as they binge on sweets and starchy foods, Roecklein and Rosenthal say. They also tend to report sleeping more, not less, when they are depressed, although Roecklein says her most recent study suggests oversleeping isn’t as typical as once thought.

If you are not clinically depressed, but are less cheerful, energetic, creative, and productive in winter, Rosenthal says you may be among the 15 percent or so U.S. adults who suffer from the winter blues. Researchers often use a more technical term—subsyndromal SAD—to describe the less severe condition.

What Causes These Problems?

When Rosenthal was growing up in South Africa, he says he noticed the difference in his moods between the warm summers and the cooler winters. But, as he writes in his book, Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder, he did not really understand the way winter could deplete his spirits until he spent a year in New York City.

“I had not anticipated how short the days would be,” Rosenthal says in the book. “Then daylight saving time was over, and the clocks were put back an hour. I left work that first Monday after the time change and found the world in darkness. A cold wind blowing off the Hudson River filled me with foreboding. Winter came. My energy level declined.” In the spring, he writes, his energy and mood surged again.

Later, Rosenthal and other scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) started to put the pieces together. Certain patients, they noticed, suffered as the hours of daylight declined, with some starting to feel blue by late summer, and most declining by mid-autumn and suffering most in the dead of winter.

Rosenthal and his colleagues theorized that a shortage of daylight threw some people out of whack, perhaps by disrupting key hormones and the body’s circadian rhythms, the internal clock that helps regulate alertness, mood, and appetite.

So, they tested their theory by treating some early patients with daily doses of bright light delivered from a huge two-by-four-foot box outfitted with fluorescent fixtures.

The result: These patients said they felt better. Early SAD patients were treated with daily doses of bright light delivered from a huge two-by-fourfoot box outfitted with fluorescent fixtures.