Does lightbox therapy actually help your winter blues?
I did a deep dive into the research to answer everything you need to know!
*important disclaimer: you should check with your doctor first before starting light therapy. this post is purely educational.
Light therapy is when you use a specific lamp for 30 minutes every morning upon waking.
It’s most commonly known for helping with seasonal depression, but there is more and more research of light therapy being effective for other mental health disorders such as non-seasonal depression, perinatal depression, anorexia, etc.
Which makes sense, because ultimately it is helping support better sleep. And LOTS of things are negatively impacted by poor sleep.
How exactly does it work?
Simply put it creates a PHYSIOLOGICAL SHIFT by targeting your circadian rhythm. It does this by sending external data in the form of light to your internal clock to tell it to start the timer for the day. This information is also used to inform your body when to release melatonin later.
This can be an option for folks who can’t or don’t want to take medication and still would benefit from targeting a physiological shift. (CBT would be considered a psychological shift).
How long does it take to work? And how long does it last?
Research says that a reduction in symptoms can be shown after a few days for SAD, and 2-5 weeks for non-seasonal depression.
During the winter if used consistently you can take a 2-3 day break for traveling and it still be effective for SAD.
Other research does say that it is not as effective two winters out, likely meaning that it will need to be used year after year. (Also for SAD)
When should you NOT use light therapy?
If you have certain conditions and groups such as:
-eye or retinal conditions
-diabetes
-cataract surgery
-elderly people
-bipolar disorder
And if you take certain medications specifically ones that are termed “photosynthesizing”. (article below has a list)
I pulled this info from this article which gives more detail if you’re curious:
Blume C, Garbazza C, Spitschan M. Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnologie (Berl). 2019 Sep;23(3):147-156. doi: 10.1007/s11818-019-00215-x. Epub 2019 Aug 20. PMID: 31534436; PMCID: PMC6751071.
Do they recommend certain lights or can I just get one on amazon?
Well, you probably can get one on amazon, but there are specific requirements for both the light itself and the way you utilize the light (eyes open but don’t stare into the light, etc).
There is a non-profit called Center for Environmental Therapeutics that has a TON of great, science backed info on their website, including how to pick out a light box. Their website is cet.org
What are the other options for treating SAD?
CBT tailored to SAD ( there’s actually some evidence to indicate that it might have a longer lasting treatment effect than light therapy 2 winters later)
medication (also have to go to your doc on that one)
getting outside in the daylight
exercise
Remember, light therapy helps with the biological shift and then CBT (therapy) helps with the psychological shift needed to combat seasonal depression!
Reach out if you’d like to explore options like CBT for combating winter blues