Bright Light Therapy For Insomnia

In light therapy you sit near a special light box for a certain amount of time each day.

Bright light therapy for insomnia.

Bright light therapy timed in the morning after arising can advance or time circadian rhythms earlier and thus would be indicated for sleep onset or initial insomnia. During the basic and most common form of light therapy patients sit near a special lamp that emits bright light for a set amount of time on a daily schedule. Light therapy is also known as bright light therapy or phototherapy. Light therapy for insomnia and other sleep problems.

Using a light therapy box may also help with other types of depression sleep disorders and other conditions. Morning bright light therapy is also indicated for the related problem of delayed sleep phase disorder. Insomnia as we ve learned is not an illness unto itself but a set of symptoms usually secondary to other maladies including poor sleep hygiene medical conditions medications and social and psychological problems like depression and anxiety disorders. This area is called the scn.

With light being responsible for keeping our daily rhythm aligned with the day and night it is natural that bright light therapy also treats poor sleep. Light therapy is thought to affect brain chemicals linked to mood and sleep easing sad symptoms. Again psychotherapy with bright light is better than single therapy on its own. This clock is located in the brain just above an area where the nerves travel to the eyes.

Insomnia can be treated in a growing number of ways pharmacologic and non pharmacologic including light therapy. Light therapy is a treatment used for people who suffer from circadian rhythm sleep disorders. The light is dispersed evenly over a flat screen and the lamp can sit on your desk or while you sit beside it. Exposure to this bright light helps to adjust your circadian rhythm physical mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly.

The light from this box mimics outdoor light which is important for regulating your body s sleeping and waking cycles. Your body has an internal clock that tells it when it is time to be asleep and when it is time to be awake. Phototherapy also called light therapy is an effective therapy for people whose insomnia is due to a problem called delayed sleep phase syndrome.