Can a SAD light help enhance the quality of your sleep?
SAD lights have been engineered to help people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder, also known as SAD. However, SAD light therapy can also work to regulate the internal body clock and help assist with mild sleeping disorders.
Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD affects nearly 10 million people in the United States. SAD typically affects people during the winter months or from November to March when the daylight hours are shorter. Common symptoms of SAD are having difficulty concentrating, loss of interest in usually fulfilling activities, weight gain, and sleeping longer hours but still waking up feeling tired. The symptoms of SAD are very similar to those of depression.
The SAD light works to help combat the symptoms of SAD using a natural and homeopathic approach. In order to use the SAD light, a person needs to sit in close proximity (1 or 2 feet away) to the SAD light while the SAD light emits a balanced spectrum of light from its fluorescent tubes. The light is then absorbed into the body. Scientists have found that bright light contributes to the production of serotonin in the brain and have produced findings which confirm that low levels of serotonin contribute to depression or depression-like feelings. Many studies have shown dramatic and positive findings in regards to the SAD light treating SAD and also enhancing sleep.
Can the SAD light help you to get a better night’s sleep? Many studies have proven the answer to this question to be YES. A study conducted by the Department of Psychiatry, Cornell Medical College, New York outlines this positive outcome. The study included sixteen individuals who commonly suffered from insomnia. The group was treated with nighttime bright-light exposure (BL) while living at home for 12 days with a three month maintenance light treatment period. During each laboratory testing session, their performance levels along with sleep and core body temperatures were measured and recorded. The findings concluded that the subjects improved significantly on 3 of the 4 categories from pre-BL to post-BL. It is recorded that people who received active BL treatment maintained significantly higher performance levels when compared to a control BL group not receiving the light therapy. In this study, as well as many others, light therapy has had a strong impact on improving the quality and duration of sleep.
In conclusion, you don’t need to suffer from SAD to reap the benefits of a SAD light. If you are experiencing less than gratifying sleep, unusual sleep-wake patterns, insomnia, or another sleep-related issue, the use of a SAD light may be able to help you. Give a
SAD light a try, you’ll be HAPPY you did!
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Labels: light therapy, sad light, seasonal affective disorder
