health ABC > Light
Can light therapy help with PMS and sleep disorders ?
Light therapy and PMS The symptoms of PMS are similar to those of SAD & S-SAD - depression, fatigue, irritability anxiety, over eating etc, and occur in women every month. Maskall et al (1997) suggest th...read more
How effective is light therapy for SAD ?
Several qualitative reviews have concluded that light therapy is an effective treatment for SAD, with response rates of 60% to 90% in controlled studies (Eastman et al 1998; Lamberg, 1998; Pa...read more
Let the light come in
It is frequently argued that since many of us work in artificially lit buildings, we are seldom exposed to sufficient light. The human visual system adapts rapidly to changing intensities of illumination; con...read more
Light as an anti-depressant
Some psychiatrists are now suggesting that light therapy may be effective in treating non-seasonal, classical depression (Beauchemin & Hays, 1997; Benedetti et al 2001; McEnany & Lee,...read more
Seasonal affective disorde: an introduction
In the early 1980s, Herb Kern, a research engineer, who thought that his annual cycle of depression might be caused by the shorter and duller daylight hours in winter, approached doctors working at the Nation...read more
Side effects of light therapy
Potential side effects of light therapy are rare and most often include jitteriness, a feeling of eyestrain and headache.Light therapy, like antidepressant medications, occasionally will cause patients to swi...read more
