Sleep Related Articles and SAD Light Therapy Blog

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!

Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of Sound Machines Direct is expressly forbidden.

Labels: light therapy, sad light, seasonal affective disorder

A great many people find themselves suffering from the "Winter Blues", and its more serious form, SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. What are winter blues and SAD? Winter blues is categorized as feeling unusually tired, experiencing appetite disturbances, difficulty getting up or lethargy, weight gain, and feelings of loss and sadness - "the blues". It is brought on by the shortening days and darker hours of winter. SAD is a recognized as a subtype of a depressive episode. It is a more exaggerated expression of the same symptoms, beginning in fall, reaching their crux in winter and ending in spring. A catch-all term for the above is Seasonal Depression.

In 1984, Dr. Norman Rosenthal, a psychiatrist at the National Institute of Metal Health, published his findings on using bright lights to treat patients with Seasonal Depression, showing that it helped to manage the symptoms. While Dr. Rosenthal has continued research in this arena, there have since been many new studies showing how the use of implements such as the Sunbox helps to get through the difficult winter season.

While you should always see your doctor and discuss with them any treatments before beginning, light therapy is easy and not terribly expensive to use at home. Products such as the Sunlight Jr. are lightweight, portable, and powerful. Smaller light boxes can be used effectively in dorm rooms and while traveling without taking up too much space. There are also larger options available. Sunbox is a company founded by a man who received treatment from, and then helped create for the consumer the first light boxes for use in treating Seasonal Depression in the 1980's with the National Institute of Mental Health.

How do you decide what light treatments are right for you? The first step, or course, is to discuss it thoroughly with your doctor. There are light boxes ranging from 2,500 lux to 10,000 lux available on the market today. Lux and lumens are not the same. While lumens are measured by the surface light of a given bulb, lux is how much light you will actually receive, at a certain distance from that light. Consider where you'll feel most comfortable while using your light box. Make sure you have enough space for the light box itself, and for you to sit at the recommended distance from the box.

If you are unsure about making the investment after you've talked to your doctor, try renting a Sunbox to see how it works for you. If you enjoy its effects, purchasing one of your own will cost less than a rental over a relatively short period of time, and pay off in convenience as well.

Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of Sound Machines Direct is expressly forbidden.

Labels: light therapy, sad light, seasonal affective disorder, sunbox light, winter blues