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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffLight therapy is one of the many ways to treat a variety of mental disorders and conditions affected by time changes or shift changes, especially seasonal affective disorder. The light box used in light therapy emits a type and intensity of light that isn't found in normal household lighting. So simply sitting in front of a lamp in your living room is unlikely to relieve your seasonal affective disorder symptoms or other problems.
Similarly, a light box delivers brighter, more focused light than you can find outdoors, which makes it more effective than trying to get enough light exposure by spending time outside — especially on gloomy days.
When to consider light therapy
Light therapy may be a treatment option for you if:
- You don't want to take medications such as antidepressants
- You can't tolerate the side effects of antidepressants
- You've tried antidepressants but they haven't been effective
- You want an alternative to psychotherapy
- You're pregnant or breast-feeding and are concerned about the effects of antidepressants on your developing fetus or baby
- You don't have insurance coverage for mental health services
- You lack access to mental health services
Conditions light therapy may help
Conditions and problems that may benefit from light therapy include:
- Seasonal affective disorder
- Nonseasonal types of depression
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Postpartum depression
- Jet lag
- Certain sleep disorders
- Shift-work problems
Keep in mind that light therapy hasn't officially been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for seasonal affective disorder or other conditions. But many mental health providers consider light therapy the main seasonal affective disorder treatment.
- Morgan AJ, et al. Self-help interventions for depressive disorders and depressive symptoms: A systematic review. Annals of General Psychiatry. 2008;7:13.
- Glickman G, et al. Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder with blue narrow-band light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Biological Psychiatry. 2006;59(6):502-507.
- Desan PH, et al. A controlled trial of the Litebook light-emitting diode (LED) light therapy device for treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). BMC Psychiatry. 2007;7:38.
- Lurie SJ, et al. Seasonal affective disorder. American Family Physician. 2006;74(9): 1521-4.
- Byrne B, et al. Seasonal affective disorder and light therapy. Sleep Medicine Clinics. 2008;3:307-315.
- Even C, et al. Efficacy of light therapy in nonseasonal depression: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2008;108(1-2):11-23.
- Rosenthal NE. Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder. Rev. ed. New York, N.Y.: Guilford Press; 2006:113-165.
