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A person is exposed to certain types of light for a certain period of time during light therapy. Light therapy may be used to treat a range of skin conditions, along with seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
What is seasonal affective disorder?
Seasonal affective disorder, also called “winter depression” or “winter blues,” is a type of depression linked to seasonal changes. Major depressive episodes characterize this disorder during the winter and remission during the spring and summer months.
The body’s internal clock signals the down-regulation of several functions during the shorter days: sleepiness, hunger, digestion, etc. The endocrine system, which regulates our hormones, automatically responds to compensate for these deficits. However, some individuals are not able to cope with these changes, which makes them feel depressed. The good news is that phototherapy is very effective in treating the seasonal affective disorder.
How Does Light Therapy Treat Depression?
Did you know that light therapy is a good way to treat depression? Light therapy is a form of treatment that involves artificial or natural light to treat seasonal affective disorder. Light therapy consists of spending around 30 minutes in front of a light source each day. This allows the patient to be exposed to higher levels of light than just sunshine. It isn’t a cure, but light therapy can be beneficial in treating depression. Light therapy is useful in the treatment of anxiety disorders and bipolar disorder.
How SAD lamps work?
Full-spectrum light therapy is most useful for SAD. Rather than a specific wavelength, it uses the entire range of visible light. Fluorescent bulbs, such as those in most lightboxes, are the most common light source capable of providing full-spectrum light. Light therapy helps elevate mood and energy levels by boosting serotonin levels in the brain. The lightbox must be located about a foot away from the face to be effective.
The lightbox’s artificial light can boost serotonin levels and make you feel happier and more energetic. A SAD lamp is designed to provide extra-bright light: most commercial lightboxes are considerably brighter than a typical household lamp.
Best Lamps for light therapy
There are different types of light therapy lamps available in the market from different brands. We have picked top 3 among them for you.
TaoTronics Light Therapy Lamp
It creates a sunny window inside your home. The full spectrum of light found in daylight is reflected off the LED shin. Lightweight 0.39 inches, this light is easy to carry and ideal for home, office, indoor, and travel. The stand can be used in landscape or portrait & the opening angle can be adjusted between 40 and 100 degrees to position the light as needed. Press either the “+” or “-” button for 2 seconds to set your ideal dosage. Press the power button long enough to start the 30-min timer, and the LED indicator will blink white upon successful activation.
You can buy it from Here.
Verilux HappyLight®
The lamp delivers up to 10,000 lux for effective and safe light therapy. There are three brightness levels and a convenient countdown timer programmable up to an hour in 15-minute increments. Bright light therapy boosts mood, improves sleep, improves energy, and improves focus, leaving you reenergized. The lightweight design combined with the detachable stand and wall mount makes the HappyLight Lumi Plus portable enough to be used at home or on the go and perfect for the winter blues, insomnia, sunlight deprivation, shift work, office employees, and seniors.
You can buy it from Here.
DZY UV-Free Light Therapy Lamp
The daylight lamp produces light at a consistent intensity of 10000 lux to give you energy throughout the day. This natural light lamp provides us with enough light for the whole winter. As the weather turns gloomy or rainy or in a bad mood, we can enjoy a happy day at home or the office. There are three light colors in the light therapy box: White, Natural, and Warm light. Switching the lighting mode is done by pressing the button “C.” Pressing the button “B” switches Five light intensity levels.
You can buy it from Here.
