light box

[frankie1star]

I am interested in buying a portable one for my daughter, who suffers from ME. Could anyone give me any information or a reasonable (cost effective) place to buy one?

[Savvy_Sue]

I think if you search this forum (you may have to change the settings to look further back than a month) for light boxes you'll find some useful posts. I know Ted would recommend Vitamin D as a cheaper and more effective alternative!

[frankie1star]

Hi thanks, I have done a search but wondered if there was any more up to date info.

[wolfehouse]

my local boots had a small light for sad sufferers at the clearence section for £40.
i don't see any on the website though, so you'd have to be lucky and come across one. also, i don't know if there is a difference in results from different types.

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Therapy of circadian rhythm disorders in chronic fatigue syndrome: no symptomatic improvement with melatonin or phototherapy. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=12423324)

Light therapy from a SADLIGHT box can only be expected to help conditions which are related to a seasonal or circadian fluctuation in severity. By providing bright light in the morning the melatonin production is stopped and this may make people who feel depressed feel a bit brighter.

this research
Vitamin D vs broad spectrum phototherapy in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=10888476) shows that people given relatively little Vitamin D3 in Baltimore, Maryland (a lot nearer the equator than UK) had a greater improvement in seasonal depresssion than did those with light therapy.

We know from Randomized comparison of the effects of the vitamin D3 adequate (http://www.nutritionj.com/content/3/1/8/abstract)that taking as much vitamin d as your body requires daily (http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/77/1/204)results in improved feelings of wellbeing and that such an amount is absolutely safe (http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/1/6) being less than half the proposed new safe upper limit.

Sadlight boxes work on the brightness of the light output and while full spectrum lighting may be more comfortable to sit in front of, it is the intensity of the light rather than the quality which is having the effect on the pineal gland. You have to realise that this is NOTHING to do with the Vitamin D effect from sunshine or tanning lamps which contain UVB rays which enable your skin to make vitamin D3. UVB is not part of the visible light spectrum and so any daylight simulation or full spectrum light source will not contain UVB rays (you'd have to wear sunglasses to use them if they did and that would defeat the object of the exercise)

In Vitamin d and rehabilitation: improving functional outcomes. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17507730) Holick suggests that "Vitamin D deficiency and osteomalacia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or myositis. There is a need for better education of health professionals and the general public regarding the optimization of vitamin D status in the care of rehabilitation patients."

You can read more about Vitamin D and it's effect on health in this new paper by Holick about Vitamin D deficiency (http://www.uvadvantage.org/CONTENT/NEJournalofMedicine.pdf)

If you still want to give light therapy a trial any bright light source will enable you to find out if you feel better using such a light. A Tasklight such as this 2D 38 watt £22.99 from Screwfix (http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=101442&ts=53110&id=19417) will have a similar tube in it as a SADLIGHT costing five times as much. You won't get the fancy box or timer but it will do the same job.

[Justie]

I can't give you chapter and verse on clinical studies as Ted can and I'm not sure how effective they are with ME but it's certainly helped my SAD. I would probably say that getting outside for 10 minutes a day is probably more beneficial than a light box for and ME sufferer but that's not based on anything scientific either.

you may find that hiring a light for a month is a better way of doing it than buying a light as then you can see a) how often she uses it and b) if there is any noticeable difference.
http://www.sad-lighthire.co.uk/index.php?gclid=CNy_85Gtwo0CFQKIlAodCFnuHQ