Light Therapy

Low Mood

The blues, being “down-in-the-dumps,” having the winter slumps are all part of a range of symptoms that can widely be described as Low Mood or SAD. People who suffer from SAD become increasingly depressed in the winter, as the daylight hours shrink, and the dull grey afternoons and black nights grow long. This is not just the result of Vitamin D deficiency, but has to do with a lack of sufficient light. Light stimulates various hormonal functions in our body, and lack of daylight can give rise to depression. 

SAD or general Low Mood symptoms vary in intensity. Some people have a vague feeling of discomfort that something’s wrong. Others experience intense grief or despair. Lethargy and fatigue are also common. Michael Terman, PhD, of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, also links SAD with overeating, carbohydrate craving, and oversleeping.

While anyone can be affected by low levels of light, this type of low mood is most common in young adult women. Understandably, it is also most prevalent in northern latitude countries, who report that from 1% to 5% of their population experiences winter SAD symptoms.

Light Therapy for Low Mood

With the rise in public interest in light therapy in the 1980s, as a result of some key media exposure, doctors and researchers became more inclined to recommend light treatment for seasonal affective disorder. For many doctors now, light therapy is one of their first treatment choices – it is easy, painless, and has no adverse side effects.

A 2006 study of 99 individuals compared the effectiveness of bright light therapy, dawn simulation, dawn pulse, and negative air ionization in both high and low density forms. The results showed that bright light therapy brought the most successful results, followed by negative air ionization. Similarly the American Journal of Psychiatry found that full dawn simulation, high negative air ionization, and bright light therapy were all effective in lifting symptoms of SAD.

Light treatment sessions for low mood generally include up to 30 minute sessions in front of a light box either in the morning or in the afternoon. The most highly recommended light therapy devices are light boxes or lamps that emit 10,000 LUX. These give off a high dosage of full spectrum light, and the effect can be felt in as few as several days. What people experience is an immediate lift in spirits, and a generally improved sense of well-being.

The Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms (SLTBR) and the American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA) are two of the growing number of medical associations who have reviewed experimental and clinical evidence to show light treatment’s value. And as more and more people start using simple home therapy lights; no doubt we will be seeing a rise in both research and street understanding of how bright light exposure can reverse the effects of chronic low mood or mild depression.

The more we can lift our spirits naturally with the healing power of light, the more productive we’ll become and the more we’ll create a positive life for ourselves and for all those around us.

The Bright light advisor will help you decide what time you need to use your bright light.