We’re exposed to less sunlight, and that can have an impact on our mood and energy levels — the dreaded winter blues. For those who live with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), mood changes can impact how you think, feel, and engage in daily activities, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH). SAD symptoms typically start in the late fall when days get shorter and last until the spring when the days get longer again. It’s more common in northern areas that have shorter daylight hours and temperatures that prevent people from spending time outdoors. Is the solution to all of these unpleasant symptoms as easy as turning on a light switch? Many SAD lamp users say using this type of light at the right time of day improves mood and boosts energy in the winter months. Here’s what the science says.
The Claim About SAD Lamps
The SAD lamp, also called a light box, is a device that’s designed to mimic sunlight and is marketed for its mood-boosting abilities. There are hundreds on the market, and claims that they help with winter blues have made the rounds on TikTok. A SAD lamp also made an appearance in an episode of Comedy Central’s Broad City. But it’s not just a marketing ploy. SAD lamps are designed to recreate the natural light from the sun, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, an Everyday Health medical reviewer and a dual board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist based in Menlo Park, California. “That light is especially important in the morning.” SAD lamps, and the concept of light therapy, have been known to the medical community for over 30 years. Much of the promising research on their effectiveness has focused on seasonal affective disorder, and later on depression and mood disorders. There’s less scientific evidence in general populations without these disorders, but that doesn’t mean they don’t yield similar mood-boosting benefits. Let’s get into it.
The Scientific Research on the Benefits of SAD Lamps
How does light therapy work? According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the body’s circadian clock responds to light (which signals it to be awake) and dark (which signals it to fall asleep). Exposure to bright light in the morning helps send these signals to the brain at the right time of day, so it can therefore help you feel more awake and alert in the morning and through your waking hours. Research shows that exposure to sunlight also has an impact on levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate many processes, including mood) and melatonin (a hormone that signals to your brain it’s time to sleep). When there’s less sunlight in winter months, serotonin levels can go down and melatonin levels can go up. Lower levels of serotonin may have an impact on depression, and increased melatonin is associated with sleepiness. The concept of using light therapy to treat SAD goes back to the 1980s. Older research suggests that using bright artificial light to lengthen the period of light exposure during darker months has an antidepressant effect. More recently, an analysis published in 2019 in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics reviewed 19 studies that measured bright light therapy against dim light as a placebo for SAD treatment. Researchers concluded that bright light therapy can be considered effective for SAD, although they did mention the need for more research with larger sample sizes. Most of the research on SAD lamps has focused on seasonal affective disorder, but there are some studies on light therapy and nonseasonal depression, other mood disorders, and sleep disorders, too. One review on light therapy points to it being likely beneficial in lifting mood for people with depression that is not related to seasonal changes and having low risks; however, many studies used a small sample size, so more research is still needed. A review of four studies on bright light therapy as a treatment for bipolar depression concluded that light therapy may be a safe and effective supplemental treatment for reducing bipolar depression. Other research has examined the effectiveness of light therapy when combined with other depression treatments. One clinical review found that medication and light therapy were more effective than medication alone in treating seasonal and nonseasonal depression. Light therapy is also used by sleep specialists to treat delayed sleep phase syndrome or advanced sleep phase syndrome, where people sleep well, but they sleep at the wrong time, explains Debra Stultz, MD, psychiatrist and sleep physician based in Barboursville, West Virginia. “We can use the light therapy to help retrain their brain to treat circadian rhythm disorders,” she says.
So Should You Try a SAD Lamp?
If you’re feeling a bit down and tired in the winter, there’s a chance a SAD lamp can help. There are lots of products on the market, so you’ll want to make sure to check the specs for brightness or lumen levels. Here are three things to keep in mind when purchasing a SAD lamp, according to Dimitriu:
Brightness Look for at least 10,000 lumens.Safety Avoid one with any UV light (this can damage the eyes and skin).Distance Keep in mind when selecting a light that you’ll want to keep the light about 16 to 24 inches from your eyes when you use it.
Dimitriu and Stultz recommend using the light for about 20 to 30 minutes in the morning — aim for doing so within the first hour of waking up. All you need to do is sit with the light near you, so you could have it at the table with you when you eat breakfast. The light might work even better if it’s positioned above eye level (as if it’s coming from above), according to Dimitriu. Avoid looking directly at the light, however. You could start to notice a difference within a week or two of using the light, according to Stultz. If you’ve been diagnosed or think you may be living with SAD, depression, or a mood disorder, it’s a good idea to seek advice from a mental health professional. They may recommend a SAD lamp, but they might also pair it with other treatments, such as talk therapy or medication. “All the usual things we prescribe for depression would be in addition to the light therapy box,” says Stultz.
The Final Word on SAD Lamps
“Overall, given the likely benefit and low risk profile, SAD lights are worth a shot,” says Dimitriu. He also emphasizes the importance of maintaining healthy habits for keeping mood up in winter months, like regular bed and wake times, exercising, eating well, and getting outdoors in the morning when you can. There’s enough research to say that a SAD lamp could be helpful, whether you’ve been diagnosed with SAD or are just feeling a bit down in the winter. But you’ll want to get a light that’s designed for SAD use, meaning it is 10,000 lumens and doesn’t emit UV light. For those that are living with SAD or another type of depression, light therapy can be a good addition to your treatment plan. It’s a good idea to ask a provider how best to integrate it. “Sunshine makes us all feel better, so in the absence of that, light therapy is a great alternative,” says Stultz.
