Bright Light Therapy and Winter season depression


Called S. A. D., seasonal affective disorder, seasonal depression steps in during the dull period of the year, from September until April.
The lack of natural light causes numerous troubles but essentially induces melatonin secretion. Melatonin is the sleep inducing hormone responsible for the commonly called Winter Blues creating the sensation of tiredness and need for sleep.
It’s this daily tiredness which brings on in some cases a mild form of depression, or for others, a more important form of depression which tends to make daily life difficult.
In Autumn and during Winter, a great amount of people find that they have a lack of energy with low moral, feel sad and tend to turn towards food as a comfort. In some cases, this is where depression slips in.
The main symptoms are tiredness on waking up, lack of energy, head aches, irritability, lower sexual activity, persistent tiredness and a need to be alone. A loss of productivity, of interest, of motivation, an excessive need for sleep and a significant increase in appetite (mainly towards sugar), the S. A. D. symptoms are usually felt from October, and disappear as soon as days get longer and brighter ; the cycle repeating its self year after year.

A few facts:

One in five people are victims of Winter Blues.
Women and adolescents are those who suffer the most from this seasonal disorder.

The main problem is that during the winter there is a lack of strong definition between night and day.
Our bodies functions to our internal biorhythms which in turn functions to our circadian cycles – biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes which are effective throughout a period of approximately 24 hours.
Bright light is the key to the control and synchronisation of the circadian cycle, and it is this alternation of light and dark which is essential for the balance between sleeping and being awake.

This is why the winter period and the lack of light are able to disturb biorhythmic cycles and provoke seasonal disorders or even disturb sleep.
Light therapy compensates for this lack of light and allows recovering vitality by blocking the production of melatonin which is abnormally secreted during the day.
Bright light therapy lamps therefore act upon the control of melatonin production.
Light therapy is also used by people working in badly lit environments during the day - notably in artificial light and also by night shift workers.

 
The use of the Dawn Simulator also called Light alarm or Sunrise Alarm Clock is known today as an excellent compliment to light therapy treatment.