Pros and Cons of Light Therapy

The sunlight is what sustains us. Sunlight makes plants grow, it helps regulate our sleep cycles, and it gives us valuable vitamin D.

However, not everyone gets enough light. Some people may be locked down due to the pandemic, while others may have jobs where they work the third shift. This can create various problems physical and mental. One way to fix that is light therapy. Let's discuss what it is.

What is Light Therapy?

Light therapy involves what is known as a light therapy box. This box manages to emulate sunlight.

How is it different from a lightbulb? A therapy box has 10,000 lux and has wavelengths similar to the sun. Your body may respond to it as if it's looking at the sun instead of how it does with most artificial lighting.

Light therapy became popular in the 1990s, and they continued to see improvements as technology managed to deliver them cheaper.

Why is it Important for Mental Health?

Light therapy can be used to treat some physical disorders, but it's primarily used to treat mental health issues such as SAD. SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, is when a person feels depressed mainly due to the winter.

When it's wintertime, there is far less sunlight outside. This means that you may be getting less as a result. This can lead to several mental health issues, including depression.

In addition, the sun helps to regulate our sleep/wake cycles. If you do not get enough sun, you may sleep too much or too little. This can have an impact on your mental health, too.

The Best Solution is Going Outside, But Not Everyone Can

When it comes to getting sunlight, natural is always the best. However, not everyone can. Some people go to work at night and return home at night. Others may live in a place where sunlight isn't present during the winter.

Due to the pandemic, a person may also not live in a place where it's safe to go outside. There may be no natural places where there aren't too many people around.

Other times, your depression may be so severe that you may end up unable to leave your house.

There are several reasons why you may not be able to go outside, so do not judge someone who cannot.

How Does it Work?

So you understand what light therapy is, but how do you use it?

Needs may vary, but in general, it works best when it's early in the morning. You need to stare into the light box in order to get the most out of it.

Don't worry; looking into a light box isn't the same as staring into the sun.

With that said, some people may need to apply the light box at different times of the day. It may be something you need to talk to your doctor about it.

Buying it Can Be Confusing

One issue that you may run into whenever you buy one of these light boxes is that you can find them at all prices.

Some are just $20. Others may cost you thousands of dollars.

The cheap light boxes tend to be of poor quality, and some of them may not use light that truly emulates the sun. It may be nothing more than a placebo in the end.

With that said, the boxes that cost thousands of dollars may not be in your budget.

So, what's the solution?

Usually, something in-between works. However, it is something you may want to talk to your doctor or other professionals about.

When you do look for boxes, do some research. Make sure that it works for your budget and make sure that it has positive reviews.

Also, if it has positive reviews and the price is too good to be true, you may want to do a little more digging. There are some products that have reviews that are bought and paid for, which means you may end up with a dud due to that fact.

Anything Else?

Light therapy is just one type of therapy you may use to treat SAD and other mental health disorders.

You may use music, breathing exercises, and other forms of coping when you try to heal from depression. A healthy diet, exercise, and good sleep are some other ways that you may want to treat yourself as well.

Also, light therapy may have some mild side effects. They are usually rare; most people who try light therapy do not suffer from any ill effects. However, there are some who may develop headaches or eye strain as a result of it. If you have any side effects, you may want to talk to your doctor about it and see what they can do.

Online Therapy Can Help

If you are suffering from depression, anxiety, and other mental health woes, you need to consider online therapy.

Online therapy involves speaking to a therapist remotely. If you can't go outside, you may want to consider this.

Besides that, online therapy can help you when you're using a light box or looking for other ways to treat yourself. As we said, light therapy is just one way out of many to fight against depression. Typically, light therapy and speaking to a therapist are some ways that you can heal from life's problems.

If you want to learn where you can talk to a therapist remotely, look to BetterHelp. Not only can you learn more about light therapy, but you can also get help with other mental health disorders, as well as connect to a therapist who is a good fit for the job.

In Conclusion

Sunlight is important for a healthy life, but not everyone can get enough sunlight. A light box may be a good solution if you are unable to. Also, make sure you speak to a therapist about any issues that you may have.

(Disclaimer: Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health-related topics. Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)