How do Indoor Lights Affect Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can significantly affect your ability to concentrate, sleep or be energetic. Particularly when the days start shortening, it is natural to feel a little bit down. Particularly in Northern climates, the lack of sunlight can be downright depressing. Seasonal affective disorder, as the name implies, is a type of depression that normally occurs every fall and winter. Indoor light can hugely affect this disorder and this is why many smart light manufacturers have nowadays, produced smart lights to help people deal with this condition. So, how can indoor lights and phototherapy affect seasonal affective disorder?
Understanding what a lightbox is
A lightbox is a device made specifically to effectively mimic natural outdoor lighting. Exposure to a lightbox is usually indirect, so you don’t have to worry about staring into a lightbulb for long. Moreover, proper lightboxes feature UV filters to protect the eyes and skin of users. In order to mimic the outdoors sunlight, indoor lights adjust their temperature and brightness to the specific time of the day. In order to be effective, lightboxes should provide exposure to 10000 lux of light. The box is recommended to be used for a maximum of 30 minutes within the first hour of waking up every morning. Your eyes should be open, and you should avoid looking directly at the source of the lighting.
How to determine if indoor lights can help with seasonal affective disorder
Not every lightbulb is suitable for treating SAD. Users should consider using the color rendering index to determine whether the specific bulb can be used to treat this condition. This rating system ranges from 1 to 100 and can quickly determine how closely the produced light matches natural sunlight. The best course of action is to opt for lights that can produce full-spectrum white light. Thankfully, modern indoor lightbulbs cover a wide range of colors, and their color rendering index can reach up to 92 in most cases.
A thing you should always have in mind is that even the best light therapy bulbs will not be able to fully mimic natural daylight. The reason is that indoor lighting will only emit at a specific and consistent frequency, whereas natural sunlight has regular ebbs and flows throughout the day. However, a high-quality lamp can help you deal with SAD until the spring season. In some cases, people experience this type of disorder at its worst extent when the days become extremely gloomy. Indoor lights as well as smart lights can help make your house look warmer and cozier and thus help you fight off negative thoughts and any feelings of depression until the weather turns better and the sun comes out again.
Is light therapy appropriate for everyone?
Although the use of appropriate indoor lighting can be an effective means of treating seasonal affective disorder, it does not always work for everyone. Many people cannot tolerate bright light. A common example is those facing bipolar disorder. Others need more light or a brighter one than the one produced by the chosen indoor lighting to see some positive results. There is also the risk of developing eye damage when exposed to bright light. Although this risk is relatively low in normal individuals, it is still dangerous for certain groups, like those with diabetes or known pre-existing eye disease.
How exactly indoor lighting works
Bright light therapy is based on the logical idea that if the lack of sunlight works in favor of developing SAD, then getting an appropriate dose of light can help reverse this situation. How is this happening? Appropriate indoor lighting can stimulate photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in the eyes that connect to the hypothalamus in the brain. When the hypothalamus is activated, specific hormones related to pleasant thoughts and feelings, like melatonin are secreted and thus, symptoms of seasonal depression are dismissed.
How to get the most out of indoor lighting therapy
In order to ensure that indoor lighting really helps deal with seasonal affective disorder users should follow some important tips. The most important one is to opt for an appropriate lightbox. Although there is a misconception that typical indoor lighting can help deal with the symptoms of this disorder, the truth is you need to use a specific light box that can emit 20 times stronger and brighter than a typical light bulb. For best results, the lightbox should use the full spectrum of white light and feature UV filters to block at least 99% of the harmful UV rays.
Another important thing to remember is that the lightbox should be placed at eye level or higher in order to be efficient. You should use the lightbox for an average of 30 minutes every morning until you feel an improvement in your mood and energy levels. If however, you do not see a significant difference, you could experiment with using the lightbox for longer periods of time reaching 60 minutes. It is good to remember that the key to bright lighting therapy is consistency. For this reason, start using phototherapy in the early fall and continue until spring.
When to avoid phototherapy
Although phototherapy can play a significant role in relieving symptoms of SAD, certain categories of people should better stay away from it. Apart from the medical conditions, like bipolar disorder mentioned above, the use of photosensitive medications is another good reason to avoid phototherapy. Several acne medications, melatonin, and specific antibiotics make your skin sensitive to light, and thus, exposure to bright lighting can lead to the appearance of burns or rashes.
It is true that seasonal affective disorder is an unpleasant condition affecting lots of people, nowadays. Although the major cause is the lack of exposure to natural sunlight, in some cases, other causes may lead to the development of symptoms of this type of depression. Thus, it is important that individuals review all of the available treatment options and if needed, ask for the advice of a professional who can successfully guide them through the relief of this unpleasant disorder.