Archives for October 2007

Do you live in an the Northern Hemisphere? Do you find yourself becoming depressed, more tired that usual and or seem to lack energy through the winter months? Perhaps you even have cravings for foods that are high in carbs and sugars in the winter time?

If you suffer from any of the seasonal affective disorder symptoms I’ve listed it’s possible that you might be affected by a mild to severe form of seasonal affective disorder.

Recent studies have shown that up to 25% of the people who live above or below 30 degrees of the equator may suffer from at least a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

You may or may not realize this, but exposure to light affects our bodies sleep/awake cycles as well as the secretion of the hormone Melatonin which is secreted by our pineal gland. Our Melatonin levels can also affect the actions of our pituitary gland as well as our adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine levels.

If we are only exposed to low levels of light for a period of time our bodies can begin to secrete too much Melatonin and since Melatonin is one of the hormones that brings on the desire to sleep we might have the desire to sleep more often than normal and our moods might be affected as well.

Excuse me if I got into hormones a little too much there. I find it fascinating how our bodies can be thrown off so easily simply by not being exposed to high enough light levels! I also find this topic fascinating because I keep reptiles (box turtles at the moment) and exposure to the full spectrum of light is very important to their health as well for a variety of reasons.

The symptoms of SAD can easily be relieved through the use of SAD light therapy. In fact, the symptoms of SAD can be dramatically reduced after just a few days of light therapy.

A UK company has developed and thoroughly tested the BrightBox. It’s what is known as a SAD light box. On the left you’ll see an image of their easy to use and easy to transport light box.

People who suffer from SAD can use the BrightBox for 30 minutes a day in order to keep the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder at bay. If you look through the sites gallery you’ll see people using the Brightbox in front of computers, at their desks or even at the dinner table with their family!

If you are interested in learning more about Seasonal Affective Disorder, the BrightBox and or connecting with other SAD sufferers please visit the BrightBox site.