Using Bright Light Therapy For The Winter Blues

Have you ever noticed changes in your mood in the late fall and winter? Feelings of sadness, low energy, and just… blah-ness? It doesn’t quite feel severe enough to affect your day to day function, but it’s definitely noticeable and the days just seem… meh.

You might be experiencing the winter blues.

What Are Winter Blues?

The winter blues are feelings of sadness or depression during the late fall and early winter months brought on by the cold and reduced sunlight. It’s different from seasonal affective disorder, which is a severe form of seasonal depression that can be debilitating to those who suffer from it. It’s also a little different from the holiday blues, which are brought on by the stress of the holidays during the winter months.

Winter blues and seasonal mood changes are fairly common. A poll from the American Psychiatric Association showed that Americans are more likely to experience negative mood changes in the winter, with women being more likely to report a decline in their mood than men.

Although these feelings are temporary and generally improve once the season is over, what can you do in those 4-5 months when you’re just not feeling like yourself? Bright light therapy may be an option.

Benefits Of Bright Light Therapy

Bright light therapy has been used since the 1980s to help people with seasonal affective disorder, depression, and certain sleep disorders. It has been shown to help with:

Lessening symptoms of depression
Improving mood
Better sleep
More energy levels
Higher cognition

Although the beneficial effects of bright light therapy have mostly been studied on people with clinical mood and sleep disorders, it may be helpful for those who experience milder mood changes in the winter. When used as recommended, it can help improve mood, cognition, energy, and sleep with little to no side effects.

How Bright Light Therapy Works

You know how taking a walk out in the sun seems to lift your spirits? It’s not just anecdotal – sunlight helps to enhance our mood and mental health by altering the chemicals in our bodies. That’s what bright light therapy aims to do through exposure to an artificial light source called a ‘light box.’

Most light boxes emit about 10,000 lux of light, which is the same as the amount of sunlight you’d get on a cloudy day. There are very few side effects in most people, the most common ones being eye strain, nausea, or headaches. It’s thought to work by either increasing the available serotonin (otherwise known as “the feel good chemical”) in the brain, or by regulating our circadian rhythms so they sync up with the actual time of day – or through a combination of both mechanisms.

Benefits Of Using A Light Box

You might be wondering… wouldn’t it be just be better to take a walk outside in the actual sunlight? Probably, but if you’re a working mom and have kids to take care of in the morning, going outside might not be very practical. Here are some of the benefits of using a light box:

It’s portable

Bright light boxes are generally pretty portable and can be easily carried to different rooms in your house or even to your office. They don’t take up too much space on your countertop or desk either.

It’s useful if the weather is bad

You might not want to take a walk outside if it’s raining or snowing, in which case a light box can come in handy. On those days when the weather isn’t on your side, you can still get some light exposure in the mornings for a little mood boost.

You don’t have to leave the house

For moms with young kids, leaving the kids in the house to go for a walk outside isn’t exactly an option. With a light therapy box, you can still get some of the benefits of light exposure without getting dressed and leaving your home.

You can multitask

The ability to do other things while using a light box is another compelling reason to opt for one. You can turn it on and have breakfast, sip your morning coffee, get a head start on emails, plan the day, or just skip all that and meditate in peace.

How To Use Bright Light Therapy

General recommendations for using a light box state that:

It should be used for 20-30 minutes within the first hour of waking up in the morning (preferable before 8am)
The light box should emit about 10,000 lux of light
The light source should be between 16-24 inches from your face (the exact distance depends on the manufacturer’s recommendations) and,
You shouldn’t be looking at it directly

If you’ve been battling the winter blues, this could be the perfect opportunity to try light therapy. True, it might require you to wake up a little earlier and add a bit of extra time to the morning routine, but it’s worth it for the potential benefits to your mental health. We know too well how a negative mood can affect our productivity, interactions with our family and friends, energy levels, and overall happiness. If you suspect that you have a more serious disorder that is affecting your behavior or thoughts, make sure to consult with a doctor or mental health professional.