Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder
Sarah Pullman writes about her experience with The LiteBook Elite. She suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and had success with the older model.
I thought it might be useful to read her anecdotal experience in light (Oops! Couldn’t help myself) of what we know from the literature. Also, Shoi, who has the credentials, comments on the post.
Here’s what we know about light therapy for SAD.
- The least invasive, most natural, and most researched treatment of SAD
- An overall positive effect in up to 70% of people
- Rarely any side effects
- Treatment requires sitting in front of a bright light for 30 minutes to 2 hours each day
- Not crucial when light therapy is used, but a greater effect occurs with a morning-evening combination
- Use an artificial source of light if you must, but natural light works better as measured by less time spent in bed, earlier awakening, and reduced carbohydrate intake.
A complete review of SAD including treatment options is available here. An update on SAD treatment is here.
Illustration: National Organization for Seasonal Affective Disorder (NOSAD)
2/28/07 22:44 JR