Information on Light Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or Winter Depression, is defined as a Major Depressive Disorder with a Seasonal pattern. SAD was originally thought to be a variant of Bipolar Depression, and some people with Bipolar Disorder find their depressive episodes are deeper and more frequent in the winter months. It is interesting that Light Therapy, recognized as the first line treatment SAD / Winter Depression, has also been found to be an effective treatment for Bipolar Depression in clinical studies. see Light Therapy for Non-Seasonal Depression.

SAD / Winter Depression occurs in individuals who are particularly sensitive to seasonal changes. For these people, the effect of short days in winter causes severe winter blues that interferes with their ability to function normally. Seasonal Affective Disorder is linked to the activity of the internal body clock, a neural center in the brain of all mammals that regulates seasonal changes in eating, sleeping, and social activity. In winter, the body clock senses the shortening length of day, and responds by causing mammals to sleep longer and eat more, in order to conserve energy and gain weight to survive harsh winter conditions. Humans often experience these changes as a reduction in energy levels and a tendency to gain weight in the winter months.

The basis of light therapy was to lengthen perceived day length, restoring the body clock to a summer mode. While most people respond with behavioural changes related to sleep and energy levels, for some people changes in the functioning of the body clock that occur in winter results in depressed mood. Milder forms of these lowered mood states are known as the Winter Blues, while in more serious cases, depression sets in.

While this depression can affect people in the same manner as Major Depression, SAD is considered an atypical depression. People suffering from Major Depression usually have trouble sleeping or eating, while people with SAD will often sleep well into the morning, and often have increased appetites, particularly in the evening. The increased appetite in the evening, particularly for foods with high starch or sugar content, has been referred to as Carbohydrate Cravings..

Properly timed light therapy influences some neural pathways in the brain that use serotonin as a primary neurotransmitter. It has been suggested that serotonergic activity in the brain can be affected by the influence of light on the activity of the body clock. This may explain some clinical studies have found light therapy to be an effective treatment for non-seasonal Major Depression, as well as for Bipolar Depression. In addition to the Clinical Studies for Non-Seasonal Depression and Bipolar Depression. conducted with Lo-Light lamps, other studies can be found on Medline which have used bright light therapy to successfully treat non-seasonal depression.

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Lo-LIGHT therapy lamps do not use bright light, but a selected narrow spectrum of green light wavelengths to which the body clock is particularly sensitive. Lo-LIGHT therapy lamps have been used for over 15 years to safely and comfortably help customers feel happier and more energetic through the winter months.

Click for reference material concerning light therapy for Winter Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder
More information on how The Body Clock affects mood

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