RSS
Home
Light therapy for the low-light months
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Seasonal Affective Disorder effects millions of Americans
With still twenty days until the shortest day of the year, the sun already setting around 4:45 in the afternoon, you may find it more difficult to get out of bed in the morning or find that tensions between yourself and loved ones have escalated. This is not uncommon for people with a type of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). While the transition from fall to winter, coupled with the holiday season, SAD effects people of all ranges and can feel crippling.
While it is not fully known what the causes of SAD are, many people now believe that in the fading light months, the brain produces a higher amount of a hormone called melatonin in the brain to compensate for the lack of light your body is receiving. Melatonin helps control body temperature and regulate hormone secretion and sleep. People who suffer with SAD produce greater amounts of melatonin in specific parts of their brains, therefore resulting in a deepening depression. It should be said, however, that using this model of cause, there is a form of therapy known to help.
In Light Therapy, you sit and look into a box that casts a bright light with your eyes open for a designated amount of time. This small box contains a series of florescent lights that emits an intensity of light similar to that found outdoors. This mimic light causes a biochemical reaction in your brain, effectively slowing the flow of melatonin. This, in turn, can reverse the deepening depression, relieving symptoms within a matter of days.
It should be noted that the Food and Drug Administration has not approved Light Therapy as any official form of antidepressant. This is primarily due to lack of conclusive clinical study (most studies did not last longer than six weeks). You can purchase a light-box without a prescription, but it is advised that you discuss with your doctor beforehand.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
New studies have been seeking volunteers suffering from PTSD from New England and North Carolina based clinics that treat PTSD to study, among other …
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a psych nurse say, “Oh man, we're getting another borderline.” To the layperson, this …
