Why use a daylight therapy lamp?
Why use a daylight therapy lamp?
When the hours of daylight are noticeably decreased in autumn and people increasingly stayinside, the effects of a lack of light may cumulate. This is often described as winter depression. Thesymptoms can present themselves in a number of ways:
• Imbalance
• Need for more sleep
• Loss of appetite
• Subdued mood
• Lack of energy and listlessness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Generally feeling under the weather
The cause of these symptoms is the fact that light, particularly sunlight, is essential for life andhas a direct effect on the human body. Sunlight indirectly controls the production of melatonin,which is released into the blood only in darkness. This hormone tells the body when it is time tosleep. In the months when there is less sunlight, therefore, production of melatonin increases. Thismakes it harder to get up in the morning, since the body‘s functions are shut down. If you use thedaylight therapy lamp immediately after waking up in the morning—as early as possible—you canend up the production of melatonin so that your mood can take a positive turn. In addition, lightdeficiency also hinders production of the happiness hormone serotonin, which decisively affectsour well-being. So application of light involves quantitative changes in hormones andneurotransmitters in the brain, which can affect our level of activities, our feelings and our well-beings. Light can help reverse this hormone imbalance. To compensate for such a hormonalimbalance, the daylight therapy lamp can create a suitable replacement for natural sunlight.
In the medical field, daylight therapy lamps are used to compensate for the effects of a lack oflight. Daylight therapy lamps simulate daylight over 10,000 lux. The light can influence the humanbody and be used as a treatment or as a preventative measure. Normal electric light is notsufficient to influence the hormonal balance. Because in a well-lit office the illuminance levelamounts to just 500 lux.