Light Therapy Essay
With light therapy can reduce symptoms in depressed patients
Winter certainly has a more sadly than other times. If you're down in these months, may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). In the US, people have fought depression with an extra dose of artificial light during the day.
Now, a new study found that light therapy is effective for treating other types of depression as well. For example, people with SAD may have a feeling that lingers over the winter months, sometimes even in the spring, because the shorter days not provide enough direct sunlight.
Treatment with bright light (TLB), also known as phototherapy, is a daily treatment consisting in passing at least 30 minutes indirectly looking for a "light box" that contains a particular type of light.
The …show more content…
light boxes mimic the wavelengths of sunlight and are brighter than standard bulbs; emitting a beam of at least 10,000 lux, a measure of light intensity. The sunlight varies from 32,000 to 100,000 lux on an average day.
Recently, scientists found that the TLB was effective in treating symptoms such as moodiness, anxiety, lethargy, irritability and fatigue in people with SAD because it stimulated the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which promotes positive feelings.
They then tested TLB in people suffering from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, a form of depression that mess circadian rhythms in a manner similar to TAS.
The condition is especially prevalent in the elderly, many of whom do not get enough sun exposure.
The team provided a bright blue light to 42 patients 60 years or older with TDM, to use at home for an hour every morning for three weeks. Another 47 patients received a faint red light as placebo. 58% of patients with MDD and blue light depressive symptoms reported less, while only 34% in the placebo group reported a decrease.
The benefits of therapy may be due in part to the way the body restores its circadian rhythm to a more natural state after the extra exposure to light box. The researchers also observed a greater increase of the hormone melatonin among those who received light therapy.
The researchers simply use more lights and lamps with higher power can literally add more sparkle to the life of a depressed person. If the TLB reduced non-seasonal depression in elderly patients, additional lighting can be easily implemented in patients' homes to serve as a complement to antidepressant
treatment.
Winter certainly has a more sadly than other times. If you're down in these months, may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). In the US, people have fought depression with an extra dose of artificial light during the day.
Now, a new study found that light therapy is effective for treating other types of depression as well. For example, people with SAD may have a feeling that lingers over the winter months, sometimes even in the spring, because the shorter days not provide enough direct sunlight.
Treatment with bright light (TLB), also known as phototherapy, is a daily treatment consisting in passing at least 30 minutes indirectly looking for a "light box" that contains a particular type of light.
The …show more content…
light boxes mimic the wavelengths of sunlight and are brighter than standard bulbs; emitting a beam of at least 10,000 lux, a measure of light intensity. The sunlight varies from 32,000 to 100,000 lux on an average day.
Recently, scientists found that the TLB was effective in treating symptoms such as moodiness, anxiety, lethargy, irritability and fatigue in people with SAD because it stimulated the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which promotes positive feelings.
They then tested TLB in people suffering from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, a form of depression that mess circadian rhythms in a manner similar to TAS.
The condition is especially prevalent in the elderly, many of whom do not get enough sun exposure.
The team provided a bright blue light to 42 patients 60 years or older with TDM, to use at home for an hour every morning for three weeks. Another 47 patients received a faint red light as placebo. 58% of patients with MDD and blue light depressive symptoms reported less, while only 34% in the placebo group reported a decrease.
The benefits of therapy may be due in part to the way the body restores its circadian rhythm to a more natural state after the extra exposure to light box. The researchers also observed a greater increase of the hormone melatonin among those who received light therapy.
The researchers simply use more lights and lamps with higher power can literally add more sparkle to the life of a depressed person. If the TLB reduced non-seasonal depression in elderly patients, additional lighting can be easily implemented in patients' homes to serve as a complement to antidepressant
treatment.