The long nights and dull days of winter can cause some people to experience feelings of low mood; this is called ‘seasonal affective disorder’ or ‘winter depression’. Seasonal affective disorder is characterised by the inability to feel happy or to experience pleasure (depression), an increased need for sleep, profound tiredness (fatigue), an increased appetite (particularly for carbohydrate-rich foods – bread, potatoes, pasta, etc.) and weight gain during the winter months. Typical winter depression symptoms as chronic fatigue syndrome, lowered motivation, hypersomnia, asthenic conditions, breakdown.

 

Seasonal affective disorder is believed to be caused by an imbalance in the production of a chemical (called a hormone) that affects the area of the brain that triggers sleep. Production of this ‘sleep hormone’ (called melatonin) is usually ‘turned off’ in the morning in response to increased light levels, and ‘turned on’ again at night. The ‘sleep hormone’ (melatonin) levels of people with seasonal affective disorder do not fall in the morning, and they continue to feel very tired and sleepy all day.

 

The main treatment for seasonal affective disorder is bright light therapy, such as BIOPTRON Light Therapy. The increased light levels are believed to cause a reduction in ‘sleep hormone’ (melatonin) production and, thus, reduce the desire to sleep during the daytime.

 

Conventional light boxes supply a dose of 10,000 light units (called a lux) and daily treatment periods of app. 30 minutes are considered effective. The light intensity generated by BIOPTRON Light Therapy devices are:

 

BIOPTRON MedAll = more than 10,000 lux

BIOPTRON Pro 1 = more than 10,000 lux

BIOPTRON 2 = more than 10,000 lux

 

For comparison, indoor light is around 500 lux, 

outdoor light (a cloudy day) is up to 5,000 lux and midday summer

sunlight can reach at least 50,000 lux.

So, BIOPTRON Light Therapy is suitable for use in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder.

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• 20-40min = 20cm distance

• 40-60min = 30cm distance

• 60-120min = 40cm distance

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* Before use please consult your physician to check if this therapy is advisable for the intended treatment purpose.