A SAD Story – How SunBox Light Therapy Can Help
For most of the 1950s and early 60s, Joe Daly owned a small bar in the mostly Irish neighborhood of Woodside, Queens in New York City. From April to late October, Daly’s Bar & Grille was a neighborhood hot spot. However, as winter drew near, Joe’s mood would begin to decline in direct proportion to the gathering darkness. His mood’s downward cycle would begin in November and plummet through December, eventually leading to overwhelming depression, anxiety, and lethargy… until March, when he would emerge from his self-imposed isolation and become his old self again…for a while, at least.
Does this sound like you?
As winter approaches, do you start to feel sluggish and less productive? Do you crave carbohydrates more in colder weather? Is it difficult to focus at work or when you’re with loved ones? Does winter prompt you to withdraw from people and find less pleasure in things you usually enjoy?
Without a physical examination, it’s impossible to diagnose why you or anyone else might feel this way. However, these are the types of symptoms and behavior that often point to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
What is SAD?
SAD is a type of depression that affects people during the fall and winter months whose symptoms include lethargy, chronic fatigue, increased sleep, and withdrawal from people thought to be linked to the decreasing amount of sunlight emitted during the fall and winter. With less sunlight to stimulate the production of certain brain chemicals, including the mood-regulator serotonin, many people experience depressed moods, lethargy and anxiety.
Is there Help?
Sitting in front of a light therapy product first thing in the morning and later in the evening during lower light periods simulates a longer day. SunBox products provide daily exposure to 10,000 lux of cool white fluorescent light behind a diffuser– an amount that is about 20 times greater than ordinary indoor lighting. The diffuser spreads the light evenly over the surface of the unit and absorbs and filters out the potentially harmful UV rays. Unlike many light boxes, SunBox products can be tilted forward so that the light is angled downward, permitting more light to enter the eyes while creating less glare and improving user comfort.
Why SunBox®?
The only US manufacturer of light therapy products, SunBox makes a wide variety of products suitable for many different customer needs. We stay up to date with the latest research findings, and listen carefully to our customers’ feedback, so that we can modify and improve our light therapy products to keep them the most effective source of light therapy on the market.