How effective are light boxes for SAD?
SAD lamps simulate sunlight, which helps trigger the brain to release serotonin, often called the feel-good hormone. Studies show that using light therapy during periods when daylight hours are short can help adjust your circadian rhythm, the body’s process for regulating your sleep-wake cycle.
Is a SAD light worth it?
Some people with SAD find that light therapy can help improve their mood considerably. This involves sitting by a special lamp called a light box, usually for around 30 minutes to an hour each morning.
What is the best light to buy for depression?
Research indicates that blue light is superior to other lights in the spectrum for treating depression. Studies show that blue light can be used at a specific wavelength and frequency at less intensity than full spectrum bright light to achieve the same kind of effects.
How long does it take for light therapy to work for depression?
It should only take a few days to feel results from light therapy sessions, and no longer than two weeks.
What are the side effects of light therapy?
Even though this type of treatment is generally very safe, negative effects may occur. As a consequence of light therapy, patients can complain of irritability, headaches, eye strain, sleep disturbances, and insomnia. Mild visual side effects are not unusual but remit promptly.
Are light boxes safe?
Can it cause eye damage? Some light boxes include features designed to protect the eyes. Make sure the light box filters out most or all UV light to avoid damaging your eyes. Ask your eye specialist for advice on choosing a light box if you have eye problems such as glaucoma, cataracts or eye damage from diabetes.
Do SAD lamps give you vitamin D?
People commonly use sun lamps, also known as SAD lamps, to treat a form of depression called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). These lamps can also help a person’s body make vitamin D, which helps ensure specific body functions run smoothly.
Do sun lamps give you vitamin D?
Even though it’s a light-based therapy, sun lamps don’t impact vitamin D production. Be sure to get your vitamin D through your diet and/or supplements as your doctor advises.
Do LED lights help with depression?
In order to help keep the depression at bay, a daily or even weekly application of LED-based light for about a half an hour has been proven to mitigate S.A.D. There are a couple of reasons that explain why LED lights are used to reduce seasonal depression.
What color light helps with anxiety?
Blue light
Blue light therapy is often claimed to help mood disorders and anxiety perhaps by influencing the biological clock. Studies for the same are underway. Some studies have reported that people with anxiety were more likely to associate their mood with the color gray.
Can you overdo light therapy?
What Are the Risks? Red light therapy is generally considered safe, even though researchers aren’t exactly sure how and why it works. And there are no set rules on how much light to use. Too much light may damage skin tissue, but too little might not work as well.
Who should not use light therapy?
The major contraindications for the use of light therapy are diseases that involve the retina of the eye, such as diabetes, and the use of photosensitizing medications like lithium, melatonin, phenothiazine antipsychotics, and certain antibiotics.