![]() This effect makes light therapy a common solution for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or "winter blues." I'm a Minnesota gal, used to dark, dreary winters, so the potential mood boost definitely sounded attractive to me. “Consequently, individuals who benefit from light therapy notice less sleepiness and improved energy levels,” he says.įind out how to turn off your brain so you can actually sleep at night:Īs a bonus, experts also believe exposure to natural light may affect the secretion of serotonin, a neurochemical that helps regulate mood, Bea says. It's also thought to help suppress the secretion of melatonin, the neurochemical known to mediate and facilitate sleep, first thing in the morning, says Scott Bea, Psy.D., clinical psychologist at Cleveland Clinic. This is known as a light therapy box, and experts believe that consistent use can have a positive effect on the chemicals in your brain related to mood and sleep. When undergoing light therapy, you sit near a device that mimics natural outdoor light (also known as blue light). Light therapy is used to treat a variety of sleep disorders, including mine. So, when I had the chance to try light therapy for three weeks, I jumped. Even if I do manage to fall asleep at a normal time, I’m typically drowsy until mid-afternoon. Understandably, this makes it hard for me to wake up when I’m expected to, and leads to a lot of sleep-deprived days. When I was in sixth grade, I was diagnosed with delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), a disorder that makes me unable to fall asleep at conventional bedtimes. adults have a sleep disorder, according to the American Sleep Association.
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