20 Sep Could Light Therapy Help You this Fall?
Light therapy is a way to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and several other conditions (e.g., non-seasonal depression, jet lag, certain sleep disorders). With light therapy, you position yourself close to a device called a light therapy box that mimics natural outdoor light. This is different from the kind of light therapy used to treat skin conditions. Sometimes light therapy is used by as a sole treatment, but depending on circumstances, it may also be combined with medications. For example, some people who take an antidepressant for depression but only have a partial improvement might be encouraged to add light box therapy to get a fuller antidepressant response.
You don’t need a prescription to buy a light therapy box, but you should ask your doctor if light therapy is a good option for you and whether you need to take any special precautions. You should be sure you’ve talked with your doctor about using a light box if you have a condition that makes your skin especially sensitive to light (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus), you take medications that increase your sensitivity to sunlight, (e.g., certain antibiotics, some anti-inflammatory drugs, or St. John’s Wort), or you have an eye condition that makes your eyes vulnerable to light damage. Light therapy boxes are widely available through pharmacies and online retailers, and they differ largely in features and options. Health insurance companies rarely cover the cost.
Light therapy is generally safe and well-tolerated. Side effects, if they occur, are usually mild and short lasting. They may include eyestrain; headache; nausea; irritability; agitation; or mania, especially in people with bipolar-spectrum disorder. The “dose” of light treatment is the amount of time you spend each day next to the light box, so the time can be adjusted to reduce side effects or improve the therapeutic response.
Light therapy boxes vary in the intensity of light they emit. A 10,000-lux light box is the most typical, but some have a lower intensity. The light box should have a good filter to block harmful ultraviolet (UV) light. The boxes on the market are not tested by the government, and they generally cost $125-$250. Make a good choice for your needs by considering size, portability, brightness, warranty, and cost. Some independent reviews of a few light boxes are available at wirecutter.com, a consumer tech product Web site hosted by the New York Times. Many other options are for sale and rated by consumers at sites like Amazon, Walmart, and Costco.
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With a 10,000-lux light box, light therapy typically involves daily sessions of about 20-30 minutes at a distance of about 16-24 inches from your face. For the light therapy to be effective, the light from the light box must enter your eyes indirectly: your eyes must be open, but you shouldn’t look directly at the light box, because the bright light can harm your eyes. You can’t get the same effect merely by exposing your skin to the light. You can set your light box next to a table or desk in your home or office. You can read, use a computer, write, watch TV, talk on the phone, or eat while having light therapy.
For most people, light therapy is effective when it’s done early in the morning after you first wake up. Some conditions require a different schedule, so discuss the timing with your doctor. Note that tanning beds are not an alternative to light box therapy: they have not been shown to be effective, and they are far more hazardous to your skin.
Light therapy can start to improve symptoms within a few days, but more commonly it can take two or more weeks to get the full effects.