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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Nickengland on October 30, 2005, at 5:40:26
Hello there :-)
I purchased a light box last week (monday) and glad to say it arrived 2 days later on wednesday - 26th October.
I've been using the device everyday since then and it has made an excellent difference to my everyday mood and sleeping patterns all with the added bonus of being free of side effects...(no hypomania, just the feel good summer feeling :-)
Before buying the light box, searching through the internet I noticed there was various products to choose from depending on size, mobility, light strength (lux) duration of time being used, distance from where to had to be to recieve ample light ~ and of couse price.
Bearing in mind that most S.A.D sufferers who have the condition of 'winter blues' tend to live above 30 degrees latitude, the products I was looking at were from the UK, North America, Canada, Sweden, Finland and Germany.
I was going to go for a light box from a company called Apollolight, as the research and profile made it out to be very good (the best) but because it meant shipping it in from the US and waiting etc (and the clocks have gone back today I was in a hurry!) I ended up buying from the UK.
The top of the range product from Apollo was/is also out of stock unfortunately and from what I could tell there wasn't international shipping for the box I wanted - cost $449.
There is however a German product that costs £549 - that would be just under $975!
I ended up buying a product called a Diamond 4, from most places costs £270 ($480) but fortunately I was able to find a site and pay £225 - about $400. Of the Diamond range its the most powerful one, so luckily I only need to use it for 20mins each morning. They were the first company in the UK to design the light boxes here and fitted the original treatment rooms at the Maudsley and Charing Cross Hospitals and still continue to ~ so I'm glad all that money didn't go into a cheap product/company!
Anyway, happy to say that 5 days into the treatment and I have found the light ;-) It really does quite literally brighten up my day, regulate my body clock and great for jump starting the day.
Apprently its best to change the lights every 3 years, although they don't go out then, but this keeps them as bright as possbile and its pretty cheap to do so, about £15.
Next winter I dont think I'll be in England though lol
I would also think as well that bright therapy could possibly also have an affect on improving depression/sleeping patterns (circadian rhythms) in people who do not have Seasonal Affective Disorder, at the same time I guess in some individuals it could possibily make them worse if they do not like the sun/bright light.. Also according to a study from Denmark it can also be benefial for people with hypothyroidism.
Heres some more studies I looked up..
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed
Kind regards
Nick
Posted by Larry Hoover on October 30, 2005, at 7:47:28
In reply to I'm finding Bright Light Therapy Excellent!, posted by Nickengland on October 30, 2005, at 5:40:26
> Hello there :-)
>
> I purchased a light box last week (monday) and glad to say it arrived 2 days later on wednesday - 26th October.
>
> I've been using the device everyday since then and it has made an excellent difference to my everyday mood and sleeping patterns all with the added bonus of being free of side effects...(no hypomania, just the feel good summer feeling :-)
>
> Before buying the light box, searching through the internet I noticed there was various products to choose from depending on size, mobility, light strength (lux) duration of time being used, distance from where to had to be to recieve ample light ~ and of couse price.
>
> Bearing in mind that most S.A.D sufferers who have the condition of 'winter blues' tend to live above 30 degrees latitude, the products I was looking at were from the UK, North America, Canada, Sweden, Finland and Germany.
>
> I was going to go for a light box from a company called Apollolight, as the research and profile made it out to be very good (the best) but because it meant shipping it in from the US and waiting etc (and the clocks have gone back today I was in a hurry!) I ended up buying from the UK.
>
> The top of the range product from Apollo was/is also out of stock unfortunately and from what I could tell there wasn't international shipping for the box I wanted - cost $449.
>
> There is however a German product that costs £549 - that would be just under $975!
>
> I ended up buying a product called a Diamond 4, from most places costs £270 ($480) but fortunately I was able to find a site and pay £225 - about $400. Of the Diamond range its the most powerful one, so luckily I only need to use it for 20mins each morning. They were the first company in the UK to design the light boxes here and fitted the original treatment rooms at the Maudsley and Charing Cross Hospitals and still continue to ~ so I'm glad all that money didn't go into a cheap product/company!Glad you're feeling better. Just don't overuse the light. It can lead to irritability.
There's a Canadian product you didn't mention, and I think it deserves notice. High output, at a great price.....Northern Lights Technologies.
http://www.northernlighttechnologies.com/splash.phpLar
Posted by Nickengland on October 30, 2005, at 10:07:46
In reply to Re: I'm finding Bright Light Therapy Excellent! » Nickengland, posted by Larry Hoover on October 30, 2005, at 7:47:28
Hello Lar,
>Glad you're feeling better.
Thanks, Me too :-)
>Just don't overuse the light.
Yep, thats something I'm going to be careful of, I've read that overuse can cause hypomanic-ness (if thats a word lol) something I have to be careful of being bipolar, but if that does occur, or I feel it coming on i'll stop using it and make sure I get plently of darkness ~ theres lots of that coming now... The box i've got recommends use of 20 minutes, thats all i'm using it for, if that really, to be on the safe side and seeing how it goes day by day..
>It can lead to irritability.
Interesting - I will look out for that side effect. I read that too, it weird in a sense because the symptoms of SAD can also give you irritability, I guess its like sometimes when you take an antidepressant and it makes the depression worse. So far though, all side effects have been positive, although I think as I establish a routine of using it I may limit the time of using it if my mood respnds negatively.
>There's a Canadian product you didn't mention, and I think it deserves notice. High output, at a great price.....Northern Lights Technologies.
http://www.northernlighttechnologies.com/splash.phpMy apologies - Canada definitely has high latitudes! The rates of SAD must be quite high up there I would of thought like in the Scandinavian countries..
Just had a look through the site, great products :-)
I should have provided some links of the sites I looked at, when looking through I found some of it can come down to the design features as theres so many on the market, but at the same time I found it was interesting the way although they all mostly provided 10,000 lux, many companies did at various lengths, basically meaning you have to sit nearer or can be sitting further away, and then for either 20mins or 60mins etc with the various recommended treatment times for each box. Basically though I wanted something fairly small, good range of distance and quick treatment time, but at the same time very powerful. The one I've got gives 10,000 lux @ 61 cm - 24''
Heres some links of the sites I look at..(this one has American, UK, Finnish and the very expensive German one!
http://www.allergymatters.com/acatalog/Light_Boxes.html
http://www.up-lift.com/newdaylightsite/ (Canadian I think?)
Alaska.. http://www.alaskanorthernlights.com/
Apollo.. http://www.apollolight.com/
Philips brand.. http://www.sadbox.co.uk/
The one I baught from.. http://www.betterlifehealthcare.com/view_product.php?prodID=727
The manufacture - http://www.sad.uk.com/home.php
I guess it was handy buying from the UK because the company is only about an hours drive from where I live lol
Great products from all countries around the world I think, its a nice comfort to know I've got one with these dark days.
Kind regards
Nick
Posted by blueberry on October 30, 2005, at 17:26:41
In reply to I'm finding Bright Light Therapy Excellent!, posted by Nickengland on October 30, 2005, at 5:40:26
I've used bright light therapy every winter, and to be honest, it does nothing for me. I have a 400 watt metal halide (like the white light they use to light up stadiums and parking lots). It's in my living room. It has all the spectrums of the specialty light therapy lights, and then some, with tons more lumen power. I grow all kinds of houseplants and veggies and cactus and flowers with it too, so the living room looks pretty cool. It's like the sun inside the house.
But as far as mood enhancement or regulating my sleep wake cycles, it helps not at all.
Posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2005, at 19:55:00
In reply to Re: I'm finding Bright Light Therapy Excellent!, posted by blueberry on October 30, 2005, at 17:26:41
I wonder if that's why when I was outside all winter walking five miles a day I had more energy and less anxiety depression. And weighed l0lbs less. Guess excercise outdoors is really a good idea. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by gardenergirl on October 30, 2005, at 21:14:59
In reply to Re: I'm finding Bright Light Therapy Excellent!, posted by blueberry on October 30, 2005, at 17:26:41
Hi blueberry,
One of the keys to light therapy is using it at the same time everyday, and sitting close to it. Your face/eyes need to be sort of bathed in the light (which should be 10K lumen and full spectrum) although you don't shine it right into your eyes. I wonder if simply having it on in the room is enough for it to have an effect?gg
Posted by gardenergirl on October 30, 2005, at 21:16:48
In reply to I'm finding Bright Light Therapy Excellent!, posted by Nickengland on October 30, 2005, at 5:40:26
That's great, Nick! I'm glad it's working for you. I'm doing better with mine, too, although I still tend to sleep in on the weekends. I really need to go back to when I would wake up, use the light, and then go back to sleep if I need to. It's just so hard when sleep is a hobby. :)
Being of Finnish and English descent, I'm convinced I have a genetic predisposition to SAD-related depression.
gg
Posted by Nickengland on October 31, 2005, at 11:45:08
In reply to Re: I'm finding Bright Light Therapy Excellent!, posted by blueberry on October 30, 2005, at 17:26:41
Hi blueberry,
I'd pretty much say what gg said, as in to get the full benefits of bright light therapy from what I understand its important that you recieve 10,000 lux of light ~ and depending on the specific lights and box used this could be from anywhere from 20 minutes per day, up to 60 or even 90 minutes - basically different brands give different treatment times.
Also the distance varies to, to which how far away you have from the box to recieve 10,000 lux accurately. For example some products you have to be as close to about 20 or 30cm, whereas the more you pay it seems the more distance you can be away from the box and still recieve 10,000 lux..a German product I looked at meant that you could recieve the 10,000 lux whilst postioned 80 cm away from the box...although on the down side you have to pay alot for that comfort zone!
Hope that helps..
Kind regards
Nick
Posted by Nickengland on October 31, 2005, at 12:07:39
In reply to Re: I'm finding Bright Light Therapy Excellent! » Nickengland, posted by gardenergirl on October 30, 2005, at 21:16:48
Hi gg,
The first few days when I started to use it, it was alittle wired thinking about it as afew hours after I felt tired for a little while like i'd been in the sun or something....then the following days the tiredness still happened but later and later each day until now it sems i'm getting tired at the right times..
I've kinda got this routine of using it the same time each morning (about 20mins after i've woken up) I think that helps...also i'm like a zombie then so it doesnt seem so time consuming lol
>It's just so hard when sleep is a hobby. :)
I have that hobbie too! ~ that and eating lol
>Being of Finnish and English descent, I'm convinced I have a genetic predisposition to SAD-related depression.
Definitely with the Finnish there could be a predisposition ~ and our weather isn't it exactly sunny! ...I once lived with some people from Finland and was amazed at the hours of day light they would have during the winter hours. One of them lived in the middle of Finland I think, and that seemed bad enough, but the other one lived close to Lap Land right up in the North, I remember him saying close to the Artic circle where the Temp and hours of day light, man, something like in winter there would be 24 hours darkness some days more less. On the plus side though the reverse happened in the summer..
Where I lived as well there was alot of Swedish people, I remember them talking about SAD alot..interestly I read on another site that close to 20% of the Swedes suffer from it..thank god for the light..
Moi (was about the only Finnish word I could pronouce;)
Nick
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