What is SAD?

Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that is usually experienced in winter. It is common with the ages 20-30. 1/3 of the people suffering from SAD are women. It can although develop at any stage. You should consult your doctor if you feel any of the symptoms.

Common symptoms include:

  • Being in a Low mood all the time.
  • You get a feeling of Low self-esteem without any reason.
  • You always feel like you have no energy for any task.
  • A feeling of lethargy is always there.
  • You get frequent guilt and suicidal feelings for no reason.
  • As your sleep cycle is disturbed you sleep more than usual.
  • You always feel really hungry as well.

This disorder is believed to happen in winters because of lack of light. This disorder gives out body the signal that it is night time which increases the melatonin levels in our body. However, this is not scientifically proven.

SAD can be treated in basically two way. You can cure SAD on your own. If you feel any of the symptoms you can go out to the park or for a walk. You just need more day light so that your body can heal itself. You can do regular exercise preferably outdoor. Moreover, you can:

  • You should spend your free time outside, in the fresh air. This will keep you fresh and calm.
  • You can visit saunas or a hot tub? As you close your eyes and you can enjoy the feeling of warmth. You can also add sauna oil like tropical scents to enhance your experience.
  • You should find yourself a really good and engaging book as well. It will keep your mind engaged and you will feel better as you read any book. If you don’t enjoy reading books, then maybe you could get yourself a really good game that you can enjoy with your friends and family.
  • Eating healthy stuff is really relaxing and healing. You can eat fresh fruits and vegetable which are going to boost your mood as well. You can even try cod liver oils which are really good for your mind and body.
  • You should keep in touch with your friends and family as much as possible. You can out shopping or you can watch a movie. It is really important that you don’t feel alone at any given time.
  • You should get as much sunlight as possible. Try to paint your walls with bright colors. You can even do art work on them to keep you motivated and inspired.
  • You should go to bed on. It is really important that you do not disturb your sleep cycle. You should get a lot of sleep. You can drink tea or listen to music when you go to bed to calm yourself.
  • You can plan for spring and summer. It going to be a really good experience for you when it comes around.
  • The second way to treat SAD is SAD lamps or SAD lights. This therapy is to simulate the sun light inside your house. These SAD lamps are a way to treat your depression through light. As you get yourself a SAD lamp, you just have to sit in front of it for a certain period of time to heal your mind and body. The brighter the light the more effective the treatment.

Light therapy also known as phototherapy can be used to mimic the effect of sunlight. There are several ways in which this therapy helps:

  • You can feel decrease in your anxiety and depression levels
  • It also improves your body’s energy levels
  • It reduces lethargy
  • It also reduces the jet lag feeling you have
  • Helps you in maintaining chemical balance of the brain
  • Helps in regulating circadian rhythm of your body.
  • May result in improved alertness
  • You feel light and calm
  • The light therapy effectively reduces the levels of symptoms of SAD

The SAD lights when used properly, has been shown to be effective by itself. But, the light you use needs to have the correct frequency spectrum, bright, and has to be used correctly.

You can get a sad lamp for your desk for just $40, moreover there are several lamps out there in the market that you can check out.  Here area list of best SAD lamp suggestions for you that you can find online or offline:

  • The carex day-light lamp
  • Veriluxhappylightdelux
  • Northern light technologies boxlite

All of these are excellent glare free SAD lamps that gives output of 10,000 LUX of light. You can place them on your desk and adjust their heights accordingly. You can even change the angle so that you get the best results from this light therapy. With its flicker free bulbs these lamps diffuses UV light as well. These lamps have been vigorously tested and have passed all the safety and medical standard. All these lamps comes with different properties and functions so it is really important that you before you invest in SAD lamp you should consider all the pros and cons of the lamp you are buying. It is also important that you don’t overpay for a lamp that is not even that effective.

However, you should be considering the following factors as well:

  1. Use it as directed! Have the light at about a 45 degree angle above your eyes they are very bright and do not exceed 30 to 45 minutes of exposure. Also, the light should be no more than about 3 feet away, as intensity drops a lot with distance.
  2. If a person is subject to hypomania (as in bipolar disorder), the light can bring that on for some people. If that should happen, then change the time of day for the light exposure to around noon. That should resolve that.
  3. Change the tubes at least every other year, whether you think they need them or not. You will not be able to see changes in the upper and lower spectral frequencies as the light ages, but they will become less effective. So, go ahead and change the bulbs.

These SAD lamps are really effective and useful in treating seasonal affective disorder, stress and anxiety. These lamps help you in regulating your internal body clock. It has been scientifically proven that these SAD lamps are quite effective for light therapy.This therapy is also used as a treatment process for many other conditions as well, including:

  • SAD
  • Types of depression that don’t occur seasonally
  • Jet lag
  • Sleep disorders
  • Adjusting to a nighttime work schedule
  • Dementia

It can also be used to treat skin conditions such as psoriasis.  The type of light therapy used for the conditions differs according to the requirements of the patient. The therapy for skin disorders uses a lamp that emits ultraviolet light, which is why it has to be filtered out by the technologies that are used in SAD lamps. This UV light can severely damage our skin and eyes if not filtered. This is where SAD lamps are really effective as they not only filter UV rays out, they even maintain a constant light which is effective and safe for human skin.