How Light Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder Works

It can happen at any point of the year, but the cold, dark winter months frequently are met with a rise in depression symptoms. Some signs and symptoms which will indicate you suffer from depression include marked changes in sleeping patterns or appetite, a general feeling of despondency, a lack of ability to manage self-destructive thoughts, difficulty concentrating and a unusually short temper. If you find symptoms like these affect you in particular when the days are shorter, you may suffer from seasonal affective disorder ( gloomy ). Luckily , lots of your miserable symptoms can be improved or conquered using daylight therapy lamp for depression.

Light therapy for depression is a strategy that was invented to combat miserable symptoms as lately as the early 1980s. Till that time, the medical sector didn't embrace the possibility that changes in seasonal light exposure affected humans similarly to other species. In 1981 the 1st patient treated with light care suffered exposure to four extra hours of light a day, two in the morning and two in the evening. When the treatment was successful, the disorder was given the name sorrowful, and gloomy sufferers have started using light treatment as the first treatment for this disorder.

While your doctor can help you decide if and how much light treatment for depression is good for you, meanwhile consider what a patient of this therapy can expect. Sometimes treatment starts in the early fall, when the days are just starting to become shorter. Each light box has different exposure levels, so your doctor will help you decide how long each session should be. The typical patient will start with fifteen minute daily sessions, and work their way up to as much as two hours of treatment a day. The key to successful treatment is consistency. Put aside time each day to complete your session. Skipping sessions may make the treatment less effective. Keep reading about... Light Therapy for Depression