Living with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder

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Light Therapy for sleep disturbances
and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
 

Have you read these?

 

Dragging with fatigue by early evening?
Can't summon the energy to climb out of bed in the morning?

Whether you have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or sleep disturbances caused by stress, a mood disorder or medications, you can use light to help regulate your circadian rhythms, or body clock, so that you can rise more easily and avoid late-afternoon and evening fatigue. Light produces hormones and neurotransmitters that affect our and well being.

Exposure to bright light should be set to create a daylight simulation as many minutes before it is naturally bright outside as you want to advance your rising time.This can program your body to feel ready to get out of bed when it's time. That same exposure for two to three hours in the early evening can convince your body that it's not yet bedtime and that it needs to stay awake a while longer.

 

 

Man asleep on desk.A few manufacturers market special sunlamps specifically for this purpose, at prices ranging from $200-300.

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Page updated February 1, 2011