They’re a non-invasive and drug-free treatment for seasonal depression – here’s what a GP thinks of them. <\/p>
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern. The exact cause isn\u2019t fully understood, but it\u2019s often linked to reduced exposure to sunlight<\/a> during shorter days.<\/p>\n Some people find that a light box,\u00a0called an SAD lamp,\u00a0can help. These\u00a0produce a very bright light to simulate sunlight. This is thought to encourage your brain to reduce melatonin (the hormone that makes us sleepy).<\/p>\n Light therapy has been associated with a reduction in fatigue<\/a> on a short-term basis. However in 2019, Cochrane (the global independent research network whose reviews are considered the gold standard for research) published a systematic review of light therapy for SAD<\/a>, and concluded that the quality of evidence about whether light therapy prevents winter depression is very low.<\/p>\n However, some studies have found it\u2019s effective for treatment during a SAD phase, especially first thing in the morning. It\u2019s worth bearing in mind that it can take a few weeks to work, and is often not available on the NHS.<\/p>\n Most people can use light therapy safely. The recommended light boxes have filters that remove harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays, so there\u2019s no risk of skin or eye damage for most people,\u00a0but make sure that you choose a light box that is medically approved for the treatment of SAD, and produced by a fully certified manufacturer.<\/p>\n It\u2019s rare for people using light therapy to have side effects, but some do report agitation or irritability, headaches, eye strain, sleeping problems (avoiding light therapy at the end of the day may help prevent this), and blurred vision. You must be especially careful if you have an eye condition or take any other medicines that might sensitise you to bright light,\u00a0such as some antibiotics.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked by: Lisa Seymour, Durham<\/strong><\/p>\n To submit your questions email us at questions@sciencefocus.com (don\u2019t forget to include your name and location)<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n They’re a non-invasive and drug-free treatment for seasonal depression – here’s what a GP thinks of them. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25475,"template":"","categories":[30],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/are-there-any-benefits-to-using-a-daylight-sad-lamp-a-gp-explains.jpg",1200,511,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/are-there-any-benefits-to-using-a-daylight-sad-lamp-a-gp-explains-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/are-there-any-benefits-to-using-a-daylight-sad-lamp-a-gp-explains-300x128.jpg",300,128,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/are-there-any-benefits-to-using-a-daylight-sad-lamp-a-gp-explains-768x327.jpg",768,327,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/are-there-any-benefits-to-using-a-daylight-sad-lamp-a-gp-explains-1024x436.jpg",800,341,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/are-there-any-benefits-to-using-a-daylight-sad-lamp-a-gp-explains.jpg",1200,511,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/are-there-any-benefits-to-using-a-daylight-sad-lamp-a-gp-explains.jpg",1200,511,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"They're a non-invasive and drug-free treatment for seasonal depression - here's what a GP thinks of them.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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