Medical science has powered ahead and many advances have been made but much of the traditional medicine has been forgotten. For time immemorial sunlight was known to have positive effects on the health. Even into the 20th century sunlight was part of the normal treatment regimen for many illnesses, especially mental illness. With the loss of this as a part of practice we have seen a rise in the cases of seasonal depressive disorders and a host of other diseases caused by a lack of sunlight and daytime schedules. In the early 1980s doctors began to study the effects of sunlight anew and since then have confirmed that light therapy depression treatment is effective for many different types of depression.
More Than Just in Your Head
People who suffer from depression know that the problem is not just in their head, this psychological problem has physiological elements. The symptoms you feel can be physical and the remedies needed must elicit a physical response. Sunlight affects the neurotransmitter that regulates your sleep pattern, mood and general well being known as serotonin. People who are prescribed a light therapy depression treatment report feeling positive changes in their depressive state within a week in most cases. Additionally, light therapy depression treatments have the benefit of no side effects with a marked increase in serotonin levels that is also seen with chemical treatments.
Effectiveness of Light Therapy Depression Treatments
Light therapy depression treatments are incredibly effective when used in conjunction with other types of depression therapy regimens. A combination of the bright light (a light that is about 20 times brighter than normal sunlight) and drug therapy is thought to be the best possible combination for many depressive illnesses, particularly seasonal affective disorder (SAD). When the light therapy is used with drug treatments patients often report a lower incidence of side effects from the drugs and an increase in their well being. Many people think that medication alone does not improve depression, with the use of light therapy depression treatments there is considerable improvement.
Why It Works
Light therapy depression treatments are thought to balance the serotonin in the brain. An imbalance in this chemical is thought to be the root cause of depression. Being able to balance this can effectively eliminate the depression altogether. It also resets the body’s internal clock which regulates the sleep cycle and regulates energy in the body. There is also research going on as to whether sleep deprivation has an effect on depression similar to light therapy depression treatments.
Recommended
Light therapy depression treatments are recommended by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine as a treatment for seasonal depression and other mild to moderate depressive and mood disorders. After extensive research they have found that the light therapy consistently improves depressive states with no long term side effects. This therapy has been researched and reviewed in a multitude of publications and is becoming the standard in treatment for seasonal disorders and as an additional treatment for other types of depression.
