Light therapy or phototherapy is an alternative treatment
based on light exposure for various disorders. This procedure,
which is also called light box therapy, involves the use of
light brighter than regular indoor lighting, but significantly
less bright than sunlight.
1. What Can Light Therapy Cure?
- Psoriasis
- Hyperbilirubinemia
- Atopic dermatitis
- Other skin disorders
- Sleep disturbance
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Mental disorders
- Schizoaffective
- Bipolar disorders
2. Treatment
Under the treatment, patients are exposed directly to
full-spectrum bright light. The patient either sits down, if a
light box is used as the source, or has some degree of mobility
if a light visor is used. The duration of the exposure depends
on the seriousness of the condition, reduction or elimination of
the symptoms and light strength. Depression is one condition
that is eliminated through the therapy. The affected
individual's biological clock, or the natural course of one's
waking and sleeping hours, is gradually normalized following
light therapy. The process involves gradually increasing the
time exposed to a high-intensity fluorescent lamp from about 30
minutes up to about 2 hours every morning - the time when the
therapy is said to be most effective. Seasonal affective
disorder is a type of depression caused by the absence of or
limited exposure to sunlight during fall and winter. The use of
light therapy has been cited by up to 90% of individuals with
SAD as helpful in making them feel better, possibly because the
treatment takes the place of sunlight exposure. SAD symptoms
could take as long as three weeks before they are relieved
through the therapy.
3. Not A Replacement For Traditional Care
Although the treatment is safe, most experts do not see light
therapy as a replacement to traditional medical care. However,
the approach is considered a good complement to other therapies.
Patients should visit their health practitioner if treatment
fails to eliminate symptoms of depression, or specially if they
worsen, following an extended period of time. As with regular
therapy, some side effects have also been observed with light
therapy. These include headache, sweating, eyestrain, nausea,
and agitation. More extreme and adverse effects include skin
damage, eye cancer and skin and genital cancer. Some patients
have also reported difficulty in falling asleep, although these
are mostly individuals having the treatment towards the end of
the day. Relief from insomnia is achieved mainly by reducing
light exposure time and having the therapy earlier in the day,
or by applying dawn simulation. The therapy is not advisable for
individuals with sensitive skin and eyes.
4. Light Booth Studies - Does This Actually Work?
Light boxes, ultra violet booths, commercial tanning beds and
related equipment also pose the question of cost. If the doctor
being consulted has these equipment in the clinic, the problem
would be more of a time issue, or ensuring daily or regular
visits. Some companies have light therapy equipment for rent,
although insurance coverage may not include these as part of the
treatment. Psychiatric research from the Chapel Hill School of
Medicine at the University of North Carolina has found
comparable results between phototherapy, or light therapy, and
antidepressant drug therapy in the treatment of SAD and other
mood disorders. The 2005 study applied systematic statistical
analysis to earlier clinical literature covering 20 randomized
studies. These studies focused on 18- to 65-year-old adults who
exhibited mood disorder and were grouped into four treatment
classes: bright light for non-seasonal depression, bright light
for SAD, integrated bright light-regular antidepressant use for
non=seasonal sufferers and dawn simulation.
Scientists found that the elimination of methodologically flawed
studies from the controlled set and meta-analysis of the
remaining organized material established the efficacy of light
therapy for SAD and depression. UNC psychiatry chairman Dr.
Robert Golden, who is also vice dean of the UNC medical school,
noted that light therapy intervention delivered results
comparable to traditional depression treatments as detailed in
medical literature. Although the scientists concluded that light
therapy is an effective treatment for SAD and non-seasonal
disorders, they emphasized that the research did not establish
the treatment's safety and/or negative side effects because of
limited related data. Researchers also did not look at the
effects of light therapy on the aged, children and adolescents.
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