Winter depression is treated with light therapy

During the change of seasons, some people may experience significant changes in mood. They may start to sleep a lot, have low energy, crave eating sweet or salty foods, or may even feel depression. This condition is called Seasonal or Seasonal Affective Disorder.

The APR (seasonal affective disorder, SAD, in English) usually appears in winter times , and infrequently in the summer, according to the Medline Plus portal.

 

What causes it?

The "winter depression "It has been recognized as a psychiatric diagnosis since the mid-eighties and has been filed since 1970. Do not forget that seasonal affective disorder is much more than feeling little energy, it is considered a clinical depression caused by the change of season and in most cases it is usually recurrent.

Some experts believe that it could occur because the days are shorter in the winter and there is little light. The northern states of the United States have a higher incidence of the disorder due to this cause, but there is a treatment to reduce the symptoms, called Light Therapy

The patient is exposed to a special type of light for 30 minutes a day and with this simple treatment also called light therapy there may be changes in the emotional imbalances that are caused by the disorder.


Video Medicine: Can light therapy help with major depression? (March 2024).