Silver Lite SAD Light box

    

The Silver Lite is a stylish light box, produced in Classic Silver to give a modern, sleek appearance.

It is fitted with 4 x 36W lamps and many of our customers report that they can get a full treatment in as little as 20 mins.

It has two switches to enable you to vary the length of your treatment time.

Bright light therapy from a Silver Lite is an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Question: I suffer from chronic depression and attention deficit disorder (ADD). The depression has for years gotten much worse beginning in mid-January and lasting till mid-April to late May. Some years it is much worse and lasts longer than others. My psychiatrist insists that this is not SAD as it begins too late and ends too late, so must be due to other influences. My therapist does not agree. Is there any research on this? I know very well that the January - spring condition is real but the psychiatrist is quite dismissive of it.

Answer: It's time to acquaint your psychiatrist with the latest clinical research! Although technically SAD is strictly confined to the winter months, many people with chronic depression experience winter worsening of symptoms. We term this a 'SAD overlay' on chronic depression. Not only can light therapy help in this situation, but the latest research shows that light therapy can help chronic depression even when there is no seasonal overlay, and patients can benefit by its use year round. Lastly, there is recent evidence that light therapy can relieve winter ADD. Ask you psychiatrist to read the review paper on light therapy in the August 2005 issue of the journal CNS Spectrums (www.cnsspectrums.com).

Using light therapy at home to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

How is light therapy done?

Most light therapy is prescribed at 10,000 lux for about 30 to 60 minutes in the early morning. Studies vary as to whether light therapy at other times of the day is less effective, but some people with SAD (perhaps those who wake up normally in the early morning) should do their light therapy for 1 to 2 hours in the evening, ending 1 hour before bedtime.

Once you begin light therapy, your initial response will determine whether you need the intensity or duration adjusted. Many people respond to light therapy within 3 to 5 days, but they may relapse back into depression if they miss treatment for 3 days in a row during winter. If you don't respond to treatment within the first week, you may notice improvement in the second week.

The most common side effects of light therapy include headache, eye strain, and nausea. You may be tired during the first week because of changes in your sleep/wake patterns, but this will usually go away after about a week.

Light therapy is usually started in the autumn and continued through spring.

Beware of inexpensive light therapy devices that have not been researched for effectiveness or documented for safety. The safest light is fluorescent, not full-spectrum or ultraviolet light.

US SAD figures

Research suggests that SAD may affect as many as 11 million people in the United States. Up to four times as many women suffer from SAD as men, and it tends to run in families. Geographic location also plays a role in the likelihood of the occurrence of SAD. Those who live in Canada and the northern United States are up to eight times more likely to suffer from SAD than people living in sunny areas such as Florida and Mexico.

Which light box do I choose?

Light therapy should be taken as early as possible in the morning, to keep you going through the day. If you have to get out of the house in a rush then you need one with more lights that will give a quicker treatment time such as the Diamond 4 or Silver Lite. However, if you are at home for longer periods during the day then one that you can use for longer is just as effective such as the Diamond 2 or even Rondo.

Consider when and where you are going to use your lightbox and how it will fit in with your needs and your lifestyle. Many of our designs work equally well in the home or the office. All our SAD light boxes will give you a full daily treatment in less than 1½hours, and remember, you may interrupt your light treatment and continue it later on the same day; if this suits your schedule better.