Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is something that unfortunately has relevance to a lot of us, especially those of us who live in four-season climates. Here in Canada, SAD is nothing new, and I know quite a few people personally who are seriously burdened by this condition.
In case you’re unaware of what SAD is, it is a form of depression prompted by a change in seasons. Most people are affected by this depression during the Fall and Winter months, however, it can also prevail in the warmer seasons, too.
There is much discussion pertaining to how to treat SAD, but an article from The Good News Network contains some promising findings.
“Aside from exercising and staying outside, light lamp therapy can be used to treat seasonal affective disorder in people who must remain indoors for work, COVID, or both.
“One needs a strong lamp to replicate the kind of sunlight exposure examined in this study. A therapy lamp must deliver 5,000 to 10,000 lux, compared to the 800-900 lux provided by an early evening sky or the 100-400 provided from normal indoor lighting.
“Studies show it’s an effective treatment for SAD, as well as the counterfactual—that blue-light usage after dark through LED screens can create depression in mice.
“If one were to combine the use of a light lamp during the daylight hours, with use of blue-light filters to remove the sunlight spectrum from devices and computers around the time that the sun would go down in summer, for example around 8:30pm, the positive effect could be stronger.
“Katie Sharkey at Brown University told Vox the pros and cons of using a light lamp, namely that they truly work for treating SAD, but that one has to be careful about using it at the right moment of the day.
“If used too early in the day you’ll find yourself becoming tired before your normal bedtime, while using it too late can prevent you from falling asleep,” the article explains.
It may seem too simple of a solution, but as it turns out, therapy lamps can be a very effective way of treating SAD.
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