It's best to tackle the winter blues and SAD as soon as possible! Look out for early signs — often in September or October — and if you start to feel lethargic, anxious or irritable, it might be a good idea to speak to a member of our team about using a SAD lamp. Plug into the power outlet and switch on. Although you don't need to stare at it, the light must reach your eyes to have any effect.
This means you can use the lamp whilst working at the computer, watching TV, reading, etc. Dark glasses, tinted lenses or closing your eyes will all limit the effects of light therapy. What time of day should I use it? This distance is usually between 16 to 24 inches from the screen.
If this is too close to your face for comfort, you can sit further away with longer sessions. Each lamp will vary based on its specifications you can see specs for our lights here. Do not stare directly into the light; try reading, working, eating, etc. The light should be getting straight to your eyes to be effective. It's important to note that your light will get weaker over time as the bulbs get older, losing their 10, LUX intensity. It's essential to replace your bulbs after two years , even if they haven't burnt out to keep treatment effective.
The Center for Environmental Therapeutics recommends keeping a log of your progress before and after treatment sessions. Keeping track of your mood, energy levels, and eating habits will help you identify how effective your sessions are. Not only that, but they'll give you an idea if you should increase session length and occurrence.
Download our light therapy treatment tracker to keep track of your sessions:. Mayoclinic takes note that bright light therapy is generally safe. However, there can be a few minor side effects of bright light therapy, including:.
Usually, these side effects subside rather quickly. Side effects can be managed by adjusting your treatment time, how often you sit in front of your therapy lamp, and how close you sit. For safety, it's always advised to consult your doctor regarding side effects. One factor to take note of is to check if any medications you take cause photosensitivity. These types of medications can make your skin sensitive to light, which can result in rashes or sunburn.
You can see a list of drugs that may cause photosensitivity here. Bright light therapy is highly recommended and used treatment for many different conditions.
However, it should not be the only treatment used when treating conditions such as seasonal affective disorder, insomnia, and more. A study found that bright light therapy is more effective when combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Try implementing other types of treatments and wellness exercises such as yoga, meditation, exercise, and outdoor activities. Lights used to treat seasonal depression are specifically designed to do so. Although regular lighting might help light-sensitive people, those affected by season depression require light exposure more than what standard office and desk lamps offer.
Some therapeutic lamps produce anywhere from five to twenty times more lux than typical indoor lighting. Most indoor lights have warmer color temperatures, while typically therapeutic lights will generally have cooler color temperatures to more closely simulate daylight.
Light temperature closer to daylight will promote awakeness. SAD lamps are also fitted with screens that both reduce glare and UV exposure. Overall, therapeutic lights are designed to provide a safe, comfortable, and optimal treatment.
Similar to standard office or desk lamps, devices marketed as wellness lamps may not produce the intensity of light required for therapeutic benefit. Furthermore, wellness lamps might be designed to provide relaxing ambiance, which is not the same as treating SAD.
Wellness lamps tend to be smaller in size and are typically designed as compact light boxes. When selecting a light box for your bright light therapy, one of the most important factors is LUX. LUX measures the amount of light that reaches a surface from a given distance. To maximize the effectiveness of your therapy light treatment, 10, lux is the optimal amount. Going higher than 10, lux shows no additional benefits. For optimal therapeutic benefit, a larger surface area light has more lux output at further distances.
The light should also be positioned to enter the eye from a angle higher than eye-level. With these considerations, a smaller desk-based light might not be optimal. However, if a smaller light is preferred for convenience, treatment duration can be adjusted to receive the same benefits.
You'll also want to select a lamp that filters out ultra-violet radiation UV and is UV free. UV can damage your skin and eyes. Another key aspect to consider is your lifestyle and space. If confined to smaller spaces, you may want a more compact-size light therapy lamp. These aren't as effect and require longer treatment times. Larger therapy lamps are more effective but may not be an applicable option for small spaces. Color Temperature Color temperature refers to the color of the light emitted by a fixture.
This color is sometimes referred to as a light's "warmth" or "coolness" and is measured in degrees of Kelvin. In general, warmer lights promote comfort, while cooler lights promote alertness. Compact Fluorescent Lighting In compact fluorescent lighting, or CFL, a reaction between an electrical current and mercury vapor present in the bulb emits ultraviolet light UV.
The invisible UV light then reacts with phosphor coating the inside of the bulb to produce visible light. LED LEDs, or light emitting diodes, produce light by running an electrical current through a microchip which then illuminates the diode. LEDs efficiently emit light and heat in a specific direction. Lux Lux measures how much light reaches a given surface from a measured distance. This should not be confused for lumen, a measurement for how much light a device emits.
For example, the lux reaching your eye level from a 12" distance from a therapeutic light will differ from a 24" distance.
The lumens produced by the light would be the same at either distance. Ultraviolet Light Many forms of lighting also produce ultraviolet light UV , a form of invisible light between visible light and X-ray on the electromagnetic spectrum.
Although UV has many applications, prolonged exposure can damage the skin, so bright light therapy lamp treatments filter out UV exposure.
Blue vs Full-Spectrum Therapy Lights A major topic is what the difference between blue and full spectrum light is? Blue light has been proven to be more effective than full-spectrum in treating SAD and restoring energy levels. However, it should be warned that blue light can be harmful to the eyes , especially if you are taking any medications.
Full-spectrum light has traces of blue light in it, but is much safer than just blue light. The time it takes for light therapy to work depends on a variety of factors such as sleep schedule and time, eating habits, the amount of caffeine intake, physical activity, and prexisting conditions. Light therapy can take as little as days or even weeks. It's always best to accompany light therapy with a healthy diet, physical activity, and a healthy amount of sleep. When light therapy does work, you'll feel more energy, sleep better, and have an improved mental well-being.
Your circadian rhythm is at the center of why light therapy works. But resetting your circadian rhythm and how long it takes depends on the condition.
It can take up to a month or even longer based on what condition is causing it to be thrown off. If you're simply adjusting to a new time zone, it can take as little as one day or up to one month if the trip is longer. In short, yes you can.
However, it should be done with caution. Those with more sensitivity to light may experience a feeling similar to consuming caffeine before bed. This may be a result from your circadian rhythm being thrown off with too much exposure to light.
It's always best practice to ease yourself into light therapy with 30 minute sessions in the morning. Then you can increase your treatment as you see fit.
Yes, light therapy can help with anxiety. Studies found light therapy to help reduce anxiety in adults. Yes, but this depends on a case-by-case basis. It is always best to use light therapy in the early morning, when the sun it rising. There has been reports of users not being able to sleep because they used their therapy lamp all day or later in the daytime.
The sun is essential to being and feeling healthy. Exposure to sunlight provides us with a health dose of vitamin D for stronger bones and an immune system, it increases your quality of sleep, aids in weight loss by shrinking fat cells, and improves energy and mood levels by increasing your serotonin levels. When used consistently, light therapy is effective in improving sleep by helping you maintain your circadian rhythm. Light therapy lamps mimic sunlight which is key to your sleep-wake cycle.
When thrown off, it's common for your circadian rhythm to become unbalanced, causing sleep disturbances. Light therapy lamps trick your body into producing more serotonin and melatonin which are key to healthy sleep. They can be used to sleep better at night or adjust to shift work. It's best to start light therapy treatments within an hour of waking in the early morning for a minimum of 30 minutes.
This will effectively mimic the sun rising and trick your body into producing serotonin. An added tip is to look up your area's sunrise and start light therapy according to that time or earlier during winter periods. Light therapy lamps are great for those that struggle with the winter blues or just don't get enough sunlight. For many, they can enhance the quality of life greatly. However, they do require a small learning curve to be effective. We've compiled the top five most common light therapy mistakes and misuses to avoid.
Read this to ensure you get the most out of your bright light therapy lamp. Still considering bright light therapy as a treatment option? This article breaks down the 12 benefits of light therapy ranging from being natural, having little to no side effects, more energy, better moods, and more. As the days get shorter and shorter during the fall and winter months, our exposure to sunlight and time spent outside, unfortunately, becomes limited. People who experience these symptoms annually for at least two years can be formally diagnosed with SAD.
While researchers don't know the exact causes of SAD, they do agree that a lack of light is a main contributor. How can a lack of light cause such severe symptoms? Sun exposure stimulates a part of the brain that helps control your circadian rhythm.
That's your body's hour sleep-wake cycle. Your circadian rhythm can be thrown out of whack by a lack of light. This can lead your brain to make too much of the sleep hormone melatonin. At the same time, your brain produces less serotonin—a chemical that elevates your mood. As you can imagine, people who live in northern areas where there's less light in fall and winter are more likely to experience SAD.
Having a family history of SAD or other depressive disorder can also raise your risk. Since SAD is so closely linked with lower exposure to light, increasing your light levels can help reduce symptoms.
For example, you might want to try moving your work desk closer to a window. Or take your breaks outdoors when the sun comes out from behind the clouds. Another treatment you might want to try is a light therapy box. This is a lamp that emits a very bright, white light, functioning like sunlight.
Most people get some relief from light therapy within one or two weeks of starting treatment. Light therapy can have some side effects at first, like headaches and irritability.
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