Light withdrawal is common in the winter months when the office worker spends all the daylight hours in front of the computer or at the desk, receiving only artificial lighting. The end of the shift is met by a dark journey home. Such a lifestyle can cause seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, which can have a debilitating effect on some people.
Treating Seasonal Affective Disorder
According to the National Health Service, seasonal affective disorder affects one in eight people in the UK, from its mildest form to its most crippling (“Seasonal Affective Disorder,” NHS, 2009) with the following symptoms:
- fatigue
- difficulty in concentration
- low motivation
- cravings for carbohydrates
- depression
- lowered sex drive
- disturbed sleep
Research has shown that the symptoms of SAD are caused by a decrease in seratonin, a mood enhancer and the increase of melatonin, a sleep hormone, within the brain. This is triggered by the dark winter months when days are short. Indeed, the Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms (SLTBR) asserts that light therapy is the best treatment for SAD. This could be good news for office workers.
SAD Light Therapy Box with Bluewave Technology
Furthermore, Professor Alan Bird, an eye specialist of the Moorlands Eye Hospital discovered blue light receptors at the back of the eye reacts to a specific wave length in the blue spectrum, offering the most effective treatment for SAD. Lightboxes with bluewave technology require shorter phototherapy times compared to conventional SAD light boxes with 10000lux white light.
Many portable lightboxes with bluewave technology are now on offer for those who wish to use it at work, for shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) and to prevent jet lag.
Desk Top SAD Lamps for the Office
The Litebook Elite SAD lamp is portable, compact and emits light that peaks in the blue spectrum. Similarly, the SAD Litepod is the smallest lightbox using light bulbs that emit 10000lux full spectrum.
But the Apollo Golite series offers new innovations in portable light therapy, making their models ideal use for work, but providing equal effectiveness as large conventional SAD lightboxes.
Apollo Golite P1, Golite M2 and Golite Blu
Most of these models have the following features:
- fits easily in the handbag for its compactness, measuring around 15cm square and 2.5cm deep
- portable, as it uses a rechargeable long lasting lithium ion battery, although mains can also be used
- uses LED rather than lightbulbs, meaning shorter treatment times required
- bluewave technology emits a specific part of the blue spectrum, proven to suppress the sleep hormone melatonin and stimulating the mood enhancer seratonin, helping to promote alertness
- shorter phototherapy times required than the conventional SAD lightboxes emitting white light, requiring only 20 to 30 minutes per day as opposed to one to two hours per day
- the Golite Blu uses a diffuser system for more even blue lighting
- energy efficient
- adaptors available for international usage
- neoprene carrying case
- all models backed by medical research and safety standards
Never purchase imitations, as the models may not be backed by safety checks.
Cheap Light Boxes
Since SAD is considered to be a medical condition, the sufferer may be exempt to paying VAT on the price of the SAD lamp. A VAT exemption self-declaration form may be required.
The Best Portable SAD Light Box for the Office
Compact and mobile SAD lamps are now on offer for those wishing to use one at the office. Features include portability, compactness, bluewave technology and reduced phototherapy times. This could help alleviate SAD associated with lack of light due to long hours at work.
Note: Although light therapy is a safe treatment, consultation with a GP or eye specialist is recommended prior to embarking upon light therapy.
Rachel Shirley - I have written and illustrated several art instruction books entitled Oil Paintings from your Garden and Oil Paintings from the Landscape ...
