Light Therapy in Treating Depression

Many people are unaware of what exactly depression is and what we can do to treat it. Well, depression can take many forms and is hard to identify. Yet, health experts always work to invent better ways to detect and treat depression. Luckily, they have recently found an ideal way to treat depression, light therapy. We understand that more than half of the world does not know about this therapy. However, it is taking its place rapidly by showing significant results.

If you are curious to know how light therapy treats depression in people, do not worry. This article will discuss light therapy and its effects on depression. So, carefully read the blog below. If you are a postgrad medical student looking for someone to write my dissertation for your final year research, this article is a perfect fit. You can choose this topic for your final year research and impress the supervisors with a rare concept.

Light Therapy

Let’s start with helping you understand what actually light therapy is. It is a process of treating depression through an artificial light source. Some health experts also call it phototherapy. Luckily, this light therapy is an ideal way to treat major depressive disorder. Patients who cannot take drugs to treat depression can go for light therapy. Also, it shows a high success rate in treating SAD (seasonal affective disorder), a depression that comes in patterns.

Moreover, if you are unaware of SAD, it is a seasonal depressive disorder, which often occurs in the wintertime. As the winter days contain less daylight, light therapy can be a helpful treatment to fix this problem. Also, light therapy can treat many other types of depression and sleep disorders.

How Light Therapy Treat Depression

Lack of exposure to sunlight can cause many problems, one of them being major depressive disorders. These types of disorders often occur at a specific time of the year and with patterns. For example, people get less sunlight in the wintertime. Thus, it is an ideal time for a seasonal depressive disorder to host in the mind. So, to deal with this problem, health experts invented light therapy. It recompenses the lack of sunlight a patient has that cause a depressive disorder. This treatment does not contain any drugs or IV medicines.

If you wonder how light therapy works, it requires you to sit near a light box or lamp releasing bright light. The aim of the light box or lamp is to mimic natural sunlight, to let the human brain and body get the light they lack.

Perhaps you wonder how much light a light box or lamp can emit during therapy. Well, the standard range of light out is 2,500 to 10,000 lux. Maybe now you wonder what lux is. If so, it is the degree of light through which we measure it. For example, we use cm and inch to measure size. In the same way, we use lux to measure the out of light.

Besides, the time of light therapy lies at the beginning of fall and continues till early spring. Although, the length may vary according to how well your body and mind adapt to the treatment. A typical bright light therapy consists of 10,000 lux for approx. 30 minutes daily morning. However, the therapy does not start with 10,000 lux, as people new to this treatment need lower lux and shorter initial. For example, a new patient goes through 15 minutes and 5,000 lux daily morning in light therapy.

Positive Effects of Light Therapy

If you still have doubts about this therapy, do not worry. Many trusted health experts, hospitals, and schools give a good feedback about it. They believe that it can be beneficial against depression in a few manners. For example, bright light therapy even up the activation of serotonin circuitry in the human brain. It is a crucial factor behind mood regulation. Also, many health experts say that 99% of patients develop stable and regular sleep patterns with light therapy.

Moreover, lack of exposure to sunlight makes the eyesight weaker, which can cause numbness and fatigue. Bright light therapy combats this issue and increases alertness in patients. Yet, it happens only if you get the correct light wavelength. This data is uncommon and can help offer health and social care dissertation helpto you for your final year research.

Side Effects of Light Therapy

Though light therapy does not contain any medicines, it still can provide harm to some people. There are some conditions in which people should avoid taking light therapy. For example, if a medical condition made your eyes sensitive to light, taking light therapy would worsen the state. Also, if you are taking or recently took medicines that may increase light sensitivity, like antipsychotics. So, consult an expert if you have light-sensitive eyes, skin conditions, or a history of cancer before opting for bright light therapy.

Besides, some people with no medical conditions face insomnia or irritability during light therapy. It is a sign that you should stop using it instantly. Some cases showed that healthy people also get common side effects from light therapy. If you wonder what the potential side effects are, these can be: m

• Headaches
• Eyestrain
• Agitation
• Irritability
• Problems with sleeping
• Fatigue
• Blurry vision

If you face any problem during light therapy, speak with your doctor. Else, you can avoid common side effects through safety measures, like avoiding using the lamp or light box before bedtime. Also, when using a light box, place it far away from you to prevent eyestrain and headaches.

Conclusion

We hope you understand how light therapy work and treat depression. It is an ideal way to tackle seasonal depressive disorders in the wintertime. Most people are unaware of this treatment, but you can make them aware. So, share this blog with your friends and family and make them aware. It would be a plus point if you use this article for health and social care dissertation help and publish your work on this topic globally.