Using Light Therapy can help with SAD and even Depression

Question

Yes, light therapy can increase the feeling of sadness or depression, especially during the colder seasons. During fall and winter when it gets cold and cloudy and freezing cold, our bodies start to adapt to that feeling and can cause you to become seasonal depressed. Light therapy can help elevate your mood and make you feel alive again. This information is true and sorted well it gives great information.

Comments

I totally agree that the light therapy can help with SAD, though it isn't the answer for everyone unfortunately. I think that this is a bit too broad of a statement, other than that I think that your evidence is good.

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That's really cool I skimmed your article good work

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After having read your source, I completely agree, as well as the idea that this answer also isn't for everyone. However, light therapy can help with SAD and depression, there are also so many great other actions light therapy can help with. Including wound healing, wrinkles, sun-damage, eczema, etc, including all that it talks about in Cleveland Clinic. Though be cautions upon how you're using these devices because overuse can be dangerous to your skin and even your eyes.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22114-red-light-therapy

Answer 1

According to the article you included in your post (MayoClinic), a light therapy box is designed to emit “an exposure to 10,000 lux of light” and produce minimal UV light. It is true that these light boxes can relieve symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), though users should research how to effectively use their lights. Yale school of medicine covered this in an article titled, “How Should I Obtain a Light Box” (https://medicine.yale.edu/psychiatry/research/programs/clinical-people/winter/obtain/), describing how “research and clinical experience indicate that exposure to bright light at 10,000 lux for 7 days per week for 30 minutes before 8 a.m. results in substantial improvement in SAD and subsyndromal SAD for most patients” (Yale School Of Medicine). Though there are issues around the practice, such as how “increasing exposure too fast or using the light box for too long each time may induce manic symptoms if you have bipolar disorder” (Mayo Clinic), and “many devices on the market are too dim and too small to be useful treatment options” (Yale School of Medicine). Yale School of Medicine emphasizes that the distance between the light and the user as well as the lux are important in considering if using a light box is effective. Mayo Clinic also disclaims that “light therapy may be more effective when combined with another SAD treatment, such as an antidepressant or psychotherapy, also called talk therapy”. Light therapy may help with symptoms of SAD, but Mayo Clinic suggests that some users may require other forms of therapy as well for the best results.

Answer 2

The source from the Mayo Clinic talks more about how to choose a lightbox, how to understand a lightbox, and things to consider before getting one. This is all important information when considering purchasing one to treat SAD or depression, but it doesn't exactly go into detail about how it helps. However, after taking many psychology classes and doing more research, I believe this claim is true! According to an article from Harvard Medical School titled "Light Therapy: Not just for seasonal depression?" (https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/light-therapy-not-just-for-seasonal-depression-202210282840), light therapy is nearly as effective as antidepressants and psychotherapy that are commonly used to treat SAD and depression. SAD is typically caused by a lack of exposure to sunlight, which affects systems in our brain that regulate normal bodily functions. Light therapy resets our circadian clock (the body's master clock) by reaching receptors in the retina and transmitting information about the light to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which raises our mood.

Answer 3

I do agree that light therapy can be helpful for some people, but I believe the extent to which you are recommending light therapy may not be true. I have spoken to some of my friends who have used light therapy, and they found that it only helps for a little bit and does not change the mean of their depression!