Can Bright Light Therapy Improve Sleep?

Do you suffer from insomnia, often wondering when – or if – you’ll fall asleep each night? Does your inability to sleep seem to get worse in the winter, when there’s less sunlight during the day?

Can Bright Light Therapy Help Your Insomnia?

Because bright light therapy helps the body restore normal circadian rhythms, it can improve sleep patterns for those with insomnia or other sleep disorders. Circadian rhythm, the natural sleep and wake cycle of the human body, is regulated by, among other things, exposure to sunlight. When undergoing bright light therapy, a person sits under a 10,000 lux light that simulates the brightness of natural sunlight. The brain is led to believe that the person is exposed to daytime sunlight.

Sitting beneath the light for up to 60 minutes per day, as close to waking as possible, can help trick the brain into thinking it is a bright, sunny day even when there is little natural light. Resetting the brain’s circadian rhythm can help improve your ability to fall asleep at night, stay asleep, and wake feeling more refreshed in the morning.

A recent study at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine showed that bright light therapy improved sleep efficiency, or the amount of time a person in bed is actually asleep, in cancer patients. The study, published in the Jan. 15, 2018, issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, showed improvement in sleep efficiency even 3 weeks after the conclusion of bright light therapy.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends bright light therapy for those suffering from insomnia. It has been shown useful in patients suffering from Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS), Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome (ASPS), jet lag, sleep problems for shift workers, non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome, dyschronosis, and age-related sleep maintenance insomnia.

Your Online Provider for Industry-Standard Light Boxes

At The SunBox Company, we specialize in the production and online distribution of bright light therapy boxes. We firmly believe in the power of light therapy all year round, and we are backed by science. Contact us today to see how our light therapy boxes can help you feel and perform better all winter long.