Effectiveness Of Bright Light Therapy
Posted: October 22nd, 2009 | Author: admin | Filed under: bright light therapy | Tags: bright light therapy | No Comments »The effectiveness of Bright Light Therapy has been proven by more than 15 medical agencies doing research in patients, with significant improvement in about a week or thereabout. Bright Light Therapy has shown the medical fields that therapeutic levels of illumination have an effect on human physiologically.
In accordance to blood tests the hormone melatonin, known to be remarkably high at certain times of the day, are speedily reduced by levels of light introduction. This has demonstrated that Bright Light Therapy has on the daily rhythms of body temperature, sleep patterns, and hormone secretion. To summarize, it refers to a treatment employed for individuals who suffer from circadian rhythm sleep disorders, with a normal circadian indicating a cycle of approximately 24 hours which makes one feel sleepy or attentive at daily regular times. A circadian rhythm sleep disorder causes this natural sleep pattern to go beyond a person’s regular awake activities, whether it is school or work.
Where all of this comes about is because scientifically, the body’s clock that is found in the body’s brain is a junction where the nerves travel to the eyes known as the SCN. It is this clock that manages the “circadian rhythms” of the body, in turn controlling the rhythms of the body.
Bright Light Therapy helps the body’s rhythms by setting the internal clock through its exposure to bright light, akin to sunlight. The aim of combination therapy comprises a healthy sleep pattern and an internal clock that works at the right juncture. The rationale behind the Bright Light Therapy is to reset the body’s clock that is not working properly, but is considered only a portion of the treatment plan. The other portion of the treatment plan is to consult a doctor who knows what he or she is doing and specializes in sleep disorders. At this time, there are four essential groups of products for light therapy: The Light Box, The Desk Lamp, The Light Visor and The Dawn Simulator.
Other disorder that Bright Light Therapy is effective for is the depressive segment of bipolar. Women with bipolar disorder were observed by researchers at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Previously the women had used Bright Light Therapy treatments in the morning or at midday on a daily basis for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes for a period of two weeks. Six of the women had considerable improvement, with several recovering 100% from the symptoms of the bipolar depression. The ones with the highest rates of success were in the midday light range, with a few responding very well to the early morning light phase.
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