When the days get shorter, many people feel listless. In technical jargon, this phenomenon is called seasonal depression, favored by the lack of light. Daylight lamps should literally lighten the mood again.
Do you lack any drive in the low-light season, are you permanently tired and have an increased craving for sweets? Then you may suffer from winter depression, or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) for short. According to the, one speaks of a seasonal depression only “if symptoms of a depressive episode appear exclusively and repeatedly at a certain time of the year, typically in autumn and winter”. An important indicator that you have SAD is the fact that your state of mind changes suddenly in spring – when the days get longer again and the hours of sunshine increase. But what is the reason and how can you counteract the bad mood?
How does a winter depression develop?
Our internal clock is controlled by two different hormones: In daylight, the body releases more serotonin, a messenger substance that can be understood as a kind of endogenous antidepressant – also known as the happiness hormone. It lifts our spirits and helps us function better. When it gets dark outside, our body converts serotonin into melatonin: a sleep hormone that controls the day-night rhythm. So it makes us tired when it is poured out more so that we can sleep. So much for the theory. But what does all of this have to do with winter depression?
In the autumn and winter months, daylight decreases rapidly, both in duration and in intensity. Due to the increasing darkness, the body produces more melatonin, which inevitably leads to many people having trouble getting out of bed and being permanently tired even during the day. If the melatonin level is particularly high, it can lead to seasonal depression. In other words, you feel energetic, unbalanced, grumpy, sad or hungry all the time. The bad news is: this state of affairs lasts until spring. The good news is: light therapy can significantly improve your state of mind. Without any medication.
How does light therapy work?
As the name suggests, the therapy is based on artificially generated light that – from a purely physical point of view – was modeled on sunlight. For the treatment you need a so-called that has an illuminance of at least 2,500 lux. You would absorb that much light on a normal day in spring if you looked out the window, in summer even up to 10,000 lux. For comparison: a normal room lamp only achieves 300 lux to 500 lux. It has even been scientifically proven that People with SAD fared significantly better with regular radiation. Sometimes this was because her serotonin levels had risen. When you have inserted the lamp correctly. Read more about this in the next paragraph.
How do you use a daylight lamp?
As mentioned earlier, you will need one for radiation treatment with at least 2,500 lux – but an illuminance of 10,000 lux would be even better. There is a temporal reason for this: the less lux, the longer the treatment takes. In other words, the length of time you have to sit in front of the lamp shortens as the illuminance increases. If the daylight lamp has 10,000 lux, around 30 minutes are required every day. If it only has 2,500 lux, you have to plan two hours. For the treatment, place the lamp about half a meter to a full meter in front of you so that your eyes can absorb as much light as possible. During this time you can also read, write or eat.
When do you use the daylight lamp?
In order to lower the melatonin level during the day, it is best to use the daylight lamp as soon as you get up, ideally between 5:30 and 8:00 a.m. This boosts serotonin production and automatically starts the day better. It is important here that you look directly into the light for a few seconds from time to time so that it can fall on your retina. Before doing this, however, you should have your eyes examined if necessary. Even if daylight lamps have a UV filter and no negative effects from light therapy are known to date, it is safer for people with age-related diseases of the eyes to consult a doctor beforehand.
How quickly does light therapy work?
If you use the daylight lamp regularly, you will usually notice a noticeable improvement after a few days. After two weeks at the latest, you should feel significantly fitter, more alert and more balanced. If your mood still does not improve after 14 days, this may be due to the illuminance – increase the intensity (if possible) and the duration of the treatment, alternatively you can also use the lamp again in the evening. If the therapy does not work at all, you should speak to your doctor.
For whom is a daylight lamp not suitable?
If you have the above symptoms, but not only during the darker months of the year, you may well not suffer from short-term depression. If you do not feel that the mood swings are seasonal, it is thoroughly advisable to consult a doctor – before deciding on a daylight lamp. While light therapy has been scientifically proven to work for people with SAD, it does not work for people with seasonally unrelated depression. You may also get headaches or dry eyes from using a daylight lamp. In this case, you can continue the therapy, but you should shorten the sessions.
Do health insurances cover the costs?
Statutory health insurances usually do not support the purchase of a daylight lamp, in most cases not even if you have the light therapy carried out in a doctor’s office – although there are certainly exceptions. However, since you can get cheap models with 10,000 lux from 30 euros, the purchase is not that expensive. Of course, you can also spend 150 euros for a daylight lamp, but this usually can’t be any more, but has a few technical gadgets such as a dimmer or tilt adjustment. Therefore, you drive just as well with a cheaper model.
Note: This article contains general information and is not a substitute for a doctor’s visit.
