Light Box Therapy - Treatment of SAD?
For people who suffer from the very rare disorder known as the SAD or the Seasonal Affective Disorder, the only treatment available to them is the light box therapy which is basically nothing but a means to expose the patient to artificial light. The disorder is mainly a state of depression that seems to attack at a particular time each year on a certain individual and it mainly strikes during the fall or the winter season. Also known as photo therapy as well as heliotherapy, the light box therapy is used to expose the patient to daylight or light from alternative artificial sources having a specific wavelength. The light therapy system requires the individual to sit in front of a box which is commonly known as the light therapy box. The light that is emanated from the light therapy box is of the same wavelength as that of the natural light outside, and so, it is used to create a copy of the natural light in closed environments for the purpose of the treatment. The light which comes out from the box affects the chemicals in the brain that is responsible for the mood of an individual thereby easing the symptoms of SAD by quite some margin.
Light box therapy is not only used to look after patients suffering from SAD but it also helps in the accelerated healing of any wound, management of pain, it increases the growth of hair, for the purpose of acupuncture, as well as to improve the circulation of blood throughout the body and various disorders related to the sinus and much more. The advent of this type of therapy dates back to almost 1500 BC and many Indian literatures describe a treatment that made use of the herbal plants that grew abundantly in the country and the sunlight for treating the skin areas that were non-pigmented. However, the concept of the modern light box therapy is credited to Nils
Finsen, a physician from Denmark who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine way back in 1903. From then on, a number of treatment methods have been developed using this concept of using light in a controlled manner. Modern physicians are using LED light therapy for the purpose of acupuncture, photo dynamic therapy and so much more.
However, before an individual proceeds with the light box therapy, there are some things that one is to know about this type of treatment:
- Studies over the years have made a clear indication that light therapy actually works.
- Most of the people who are diagnosed with symptoms of SAD have made great improvements just a week after starting the light therapy.
- However, there are a few side effects that the light box therapy causes.
- One has to have at least 15 minutes to 30 minutes of light therapy per day if he or she intends to make improvements.
- Another disadvantage of this therapy is that for people who suffer from Bipolar Affective Disorder of BAD, the use of this therapy on them could easily destabilize them.
There are plenty of different light therapy devices that are available in the market claiming to be highly effective in the treatment of SAD but the fact is there are not many devices that are capable of meeting the requirements that are essential in the light box therapy. With most of the insurance companies covering the prices of the light therapy devices, it would, however, be unwise to invest in one without knowing the specifications of what you need and going for the wrong device could easily affect the treatment and the results that you desire as such. Don’t think that smaller and compact light therapy devices are better because the smaller the eye box is, the more are the chances that even the slightest of head movements could take the eye out of position from receiving the light that is directed towards it and this might lead to some serious side effects. As a result, I would tell you to spend a substantial amount of money on the light therapy devices and not go for something cheaper that might just affect the treatment in an adverse manner.
