With summer soon arriving, the temperatures are going to rise and will rise dramatically. We have been seeing some of the hottest summers in recent years thanks to changing climate patterns. Some of the highest recorded temperatures have been recorded in the past few years.
With that being said, you may be wondering if there is any use for light therapy during these already very brightly lit months. You may, in fact, be wondering, “what uses are there for light therapy in the summer?”
This article will answer exactly that question and will give you the low down of the efficacy of using light therapy in the summer. While it is true that light therapy is famous mostly as an effective treatment option for Seasonal Affective Disorder, there happens to be a whole host of other benefits of light therapy as well. There are, quite literally, a significant amount of uses of light therapy when winter is gone. We will discuss exactly those things but first, let us take a look at what exactly light therapy is. This will give you a better understanding of what to expect from this immensely popular therapy model.
What is it?
Light therapy is an extremely popular form of therapy that makes use of artificial light to treat a whole host of maladies. In fact, the list of things that light therapy can help with is so large, that it may often seem to be too good to be true. In the past, research on light therapy remained on the fringes of the scientific community. Recently, however, that has changed quite significantly. Due to its widespread appeal and popularity, research has now moved into the mainstream. The results that these researchers have been able to gather have shown that light therapy can really help with many conditions. So, what exactly is this supposed miracle all-in-one cure and how does it work?
Well, to put it very simply, light therapy works by simulating the natural light of the outdoors in an indoor setting. There are certain wavelengths of light that have been determined to be beneficial for a whole host of conditions. The strength of light is measured in lux and bright light therapy works by exposing you to light that is 10,000 lux.
The person receiving the therapy normally has to sit under a lightbox. This lightbox is completely safe and exposes the person to bright light. There also exist different types of lightboxes for different uses. So, if you are thinking about getting a light therapy device, then it would be best to consult with your doctor to get the optimal results.
Let us now take a look at what light therapy can do for you in the summer months.
Non-Seasonal Depression
There exists a whole bunch of research literature that has shown that bright light therapy can have very beneficial effects on a lot of mental health problems. It can help with bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, and also major depressive disorders. These studies have been able to determine that light therapy has an effect on melatonin production within the body. This is the hormone that has the potential to really help ease the symptoms of depression and mood disorders.
Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders
This is a type of disorder that can really affect the natural sleep cycles of an individual. People who have this issue face a lot of difficulties in maintaining their routines in line with the requirements of normal school hours or work. To put it to you in the simplest terms, think of it in this way. For the people who have this disorder, their body clocks are not at all aligned with the body clock of the rest of the world. Normally, people who have this disorder fall asleep much later than everyone and also wake up much later than other people, or it can be completely vice versa as well.
Bright light therapy can really help regulate the body clock of the person. This is because the body is completely dependent on the light to know when to wake up and when to fall asleep. If you have proper exposure to light in the morning, then your body clock will move your sleep/wake cycle much earlier. If light therapy is applied at night, it will work in completely the opposite way. It totally depends on how you want to set up your circadian rhythm. Light therapy can also really help those who are suffering from jet lag. It can also help those whose work requires them to be up at night as well.
There really are a whole host of other benefits that light therapy can really help with but to list them all is beyond the scope of this article. Light therapy can have positive effects on sleep and it also with many other ailments as well.
