Light therapy and seasonal affective disorder
| Philips goLITE BLU Light Therapy Device |
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Overall Rating: |
| Retail Price: $199.99 |
| Amazon Price: $141.00 |
The cause of winter blues
In the winter, there is – at least in most parts of the world – significantly less sunlight (whether or not behind the clouds) during the day. This seasonal fact, combined with our usually dark or artificially-lit offices, leads to the well-known phenomenon of winter depression, also known as winter blues or seasonal affective disorder. If you work morning or night shifts, you probably experience this all year round.
Winter fatigue has symptoms such as – as the name says – fatigue, having trouble waking up, a shortened attention span, loss of concentration, and a slew of other minor ailments typical for your mind and body performing below par. Some of us will experience this all year long as some form of morning fatigue when the office day begins.
In this case, light has a lot to do with it. After the light enters the eyes, it passes the optical schism on the crossing of the two nerve bundles. That’s right: the left eye is connected to the right brain half, and vice versa. That optical schism contains the biological equivalent to a light sensor, sensitive only to the wavelenghts of natural light (sunlight). This is the main signal your brain gets to start waking up in the morning or getting ready to go to sleep in the evening.
| Uplift Technologies DL930 Day-Light 10,000 Lux SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) Lamp |
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Overall Rating: |
| Retail Price: $199.99 |
| Amazon Price: $142.77 |
The solution to seasonal affective disorder
That’s why electric appliance manufacturers started offering so called light boxes - such as the first Philips Energy Light – as a way to combat winter fatigue with light therapy. As with all appliances, there are differences in research, quality and effectiveness to simulate the mix of wavelengths of natural daylight, so it is usally wise to stick with well-known brands with a proven track record on the wellness and health care market.
Some might think that any kind of artificial light is better than nothing, but it won’t help your brain wake up: the correct wavelengths need to be absorbed by your eyes for a sufficient amount of time.
When you calculate the cost in lost revenue of being tired, losing creativity, having a shortened attention span, and making mistakes, the few hundred dollars for a natural lighting system is certainly money well spent. Get one today, and start saying bye-bye to winter and morning fatigue in just a matter of weeks.
Pete Stevens
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