Compared to workers in offices without windows, those with windows in the workplace received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours and slept an average of 46 minutes more per night. There also was a trend for workers in offices with windows to have more physical activity than those without windows. Workers without windows reported poorer scores than their counterparts on quality of life measures related to physical problems and vitality, as well as poorer outcomes on measures of overall sleep quality, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction.

“The extent to which daylight exposure impacts office workers is remarkable,” said study co-author Ivy Cheung, a doctoral candidate in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience program at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.

The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal SLEEP, and Cheung will present the findings Tuesday, June 4, in Baltimore, Md., at SLEEP 2013, the 27th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

The study group comprised 49 day-shift office workers — 27 in windowless workplaces and 22 in workplaces with windows. Health-related quality of life was measured using the Short Form-36 (SF-36), and sleep quality was evaluated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Light exposure, activity and sleep were measured by actigraphy in a representative subset of 21 participants — 10 in windowless workplaces and 11 in workplaces with windows.

According to the authors, the architectural design of office environments should take into consideration how natural daylight exposure may contribute to employee wellness.

“Day-shift office workers’ quality of life and sleep may be improved via emphasis on light exposure and lighting levels in current offices as well as in the design of future offices,” said Cheung. A SunBox can help.

Many office workers are now buying full spectrum SunBox Desk Lamps to help with poor workplace lighting. Users report less eye strain and reduced fatigue, and they feel in a better mood. It’s time we pay as much attention to the lighting in our work space as we do our indoor plants. Your sleep and health depend on it.

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Employers who invest in lighting improvements find they can brighten

morale, improve employee production and have happier workers.

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A Health Poll on weather.com asked: Do you tend to feel depressed during dark winter days? 76.3% said YES, . . . I’m definitely in a better mood when the sun is shining. 22.8% said NO, . . . seasonal changes usually don’t affect my mood.

An estimated 25 million Americans notice significant changes in mood and behavior as the seasons change. Another 10 million are so seriously affect that they find it difficult or impossible to maintain their normal lifestyle.

Plagued by fatigue, lethargy, increased appetite, cravings for starches and sweets, weight gain, social withdrawal, and feelings of depression, these people fit the criteria for the medical condition, Seasonal Affective Disorder (“SAD”). More than twenty years of clinical research support the diagnosis of SAD (Bipolar or Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent, with Seasonal Pattern, by DSM-IV criteria. Those with milder symptoms are said to have Winter Blues, also known as Subsyndromal SAD (“S-SAD”). Both conditions are caused by chemical changes in the brain triggered by lower light exposure.

Exposure to light much brighter than typical indoor light is the most effective treatment for keeping symptoms at bay. Cold winter weather will keep people indoors for much of the day, limiting their exposure to bright sunshine. Being stuck indoors anytime during the year can rob you of your energy and leave you in a funk.

It has been established scientifically, that light is the major synchronizer of the brain’s biological clock. Light deprivation in any form can cause serious problems for people. Bad weather, under illuminated indoor environment, and living in areas that are constantly cloudy are a good example. It is not a surprise to see light as a practical treatment for mood disorders like depression and sleep problems.

Weather can make you SAD!

Research proves that morning light therapy can indeed help with depressive disorders not just in the winter.

People with SAD can find fast relief, within 3–5 days, with SunBox fixtures specifically designed to produce light bright enough to reverse the process. Bright light therapy signal a springtime sunrise to the brain with light 10-20 times brighter than indoor room lighting. With only one 15-30 minute session per day of 10,000 lux of white light, most people notice significant improvement, allowing them to lead normal lives in the fall and winter months. Patients should continue use with bright light treatment at least until their symptoms fully resolve. Patients may be able to reduce the duration of daily treatment once response occurs. Clinicians should most often individualize the dose of light to balance the treatment.

Don’t let old man winter steal your good mood and energy. Bright Light Therapy can bring joy to patients and their clinicians who watch how fast symptoms improve. Do something about it today and get your smile back!

The post Depression Caused by Winter Weather and Being Stuck Indoors appeared first on SunBox.

School starts early, the problem of waking kids in time for classes, which generally begin between 7 and 8 a.m., is drawing battle lines between parents and their kids around the country. Delayed daily body rhythms, which normally start to occur around the beginning of adolescence, are to blame.

Michael Norden, M.D., from Seattle, gives a good description of why waking up in the morning is such an ordeal: “Most of us wake to a blaring alarm, and then… abruptly and harshly transform the darkness with the flip of a switch.” Since our eyes are very sensitive to changes in light levels during the dark, early morning hours, however, dawn simulation provides an effective, novel way to get kids up. Electronic devices called dawn simulator alarm clocks, which gradually increase light levels over a 15 to 45 minute period before wake-up time, can adjust kids’ biological clocks to an earlier time so they awaken more easily. Dawn simulation is a new form of light therapy, which has been used for years to treat a problem called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) caused by diminished daylight in the winter.

“Subtle variations in daylight intensity throughout each day and through the year provide cues about when to awaken, be active, eat, and sleep,” according to Norden. “Dawn simulators can prompt spontaneous awakening in the morning. The eyes appear to respond to light transmitted through a sleeper’s closed eyelids. Light promotes beneficial changes in mood-related brain chemistry.”

“Parents have been buying dawn simulators as fast as we get them in” says Neal Owens, president of The SunBox Company in Maryland. “Although the devices sell for $100 to $200, most parents say that it was the best investment they have made to get their kids up and going in the morning.”

See our website for more information: http://sunbox.com/products/#products-9

The post Get Kids Up Easier with a Dawn Simulator appeared first on SunBox.

Owens combats seasonal blahs by sitting for twenty minutes each day in front of his invention, the SunBox, a special lamp that gives off light 10-20 times brighter than regular indoor light. Daily use of special non-UV bright lights like those sold by Owens’ The SunBox Company www.sunbox.com can reverse, or at least minimize, the effects of winter blues.

“Loss of energy and low mood, accompanied by changes in sleeping and eating habits, and sudden weight gain may signal the medical condition Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD,” says Owens, diagnosed with SAD. “Winter robs SAD sufferers of energy, enthusiasm, appetite control, and sex drive. But treatments exist to help these people gain control of winter depression.”

The SunBox Company, founded in 1985, is the original manufacturer of safe bright light devices for SAD. SunBox offers a variety of sad light boxes, dawn simulators, and light visors, all of which may help alleviate SAD symptoms. Don’t waste your money on those cheap unsafe light boxes that do not use a UV filter. Doctors warn users against bare bulb units that could cause severe eye damage. The Internet is full of poor quality and unsafe products that are untested.

Studies published in the Archives of General Psychiatry show that morning exposure to bright light is highly effective in minimizing symptoms for patients fitting the clinical profile for SAD, and produces only mild, transient side effects in some. The SunBox tricks the user’s brain into producing summertime levels of hormones, which regulate sleep, appetite, mood, and energy.

If you find it hard to get up in the morning and are tired and sluggish all day. Now is the time to get a light therapy unit. You can feel energetic and optimistic even on the darkest of winter days after trying the light. SunBox has a 45-day money back no risk guaranty also 28 years of safety and experience you can rely on.

The post Winter Blues and Weather Getting To You? appeared first on SunBox.

Many people feel a little sad around the holidays—loss of a family member, holiday stress, and the hustle and bustle can get you down. For some people the holiday season can be a very difficult time of year. It is a time of sadness and loneliness, a time of self-evaluation and reflecting about the past and a time of anxiety about the future year.

But how do you know if what you’re feeling more than just the blues? If you have sad, hopeless, or lonely feelings most of the day, nearly every day, for two or more weeks, you might be suffering from major depression. This is more than just the holiday blues. Talk with your doctor. Do activities or things and be with the people that comfort, sustain, nourish and recharge you.

If you notice low energy, increased appetite, craving carbohydrates, disturbed sleep, difficulty concentrating, and feeling down and depressed all of fall and winter. This can be a seasonal depression known as SAD (which stands for seasonal affective disorder). It can last for months. The good news is that over 80% of winter blues sufferers can get relief using light therapy within 2–4 days. Do something now, before it gets worse. Many insurance companies will cover SAD light therapy.

Please tell us how you deal with the winter and holiday blues.

The post Holiday Blues or SAD? appeared first on SunBox.

Dr. Golden and his researchers reviewed studies of people aged 18 to 65 with a diagnosed mood disorder. Participants were grouped into four categories: bright light for SAD, bright light for non-seasonal depression, dawn simulation (simulating early dawn with artificial light at lower levels) for SAD, and bright light with antidepressants for non-SAD. In every category, participants’ moods improved. Even greater improvement was found with a combination of antidepressants and light therapy. “The findings [for light therapy] are as strong or as striking” as those for conventional medications used as treatments for depression, according to Dr. Golden.

Dr. Golden says, “Light therapy may be a reasonable alternative to more established forms of treatment, including medication and psychotherapy.”

If you suffer from SAD or any type of depression, there’s good news coming from the research. Light box therapy can help lighten your mood. If you have never tried light therapy before, why not test it out yourself? It may make a big difference in your life.

The post SAD Solutions to Lighten Your Mood appeared first on SunBox.

Endorphins. Know that euphoric feeling after an intense workout? Or the contentment you feel after sex? You can thank endorphins for those happy feelings.

Serotonin. The neurotransmitter serotonin works to regulate sleep, reduce pain, and improve your mood. When you’re low on serotonin, you may be at a higher risk for depression. Low sunlight levels also known as light deprivation in the fall and winter can cause serotonin levels to plummet. This can cause seasonal depression.

Winter days are approaching bringing shorter and darker days. We all know exercise helps improve your energy level year round, however, a SunBox can “trick” your brain into thinking its sunny and bright outside every day of the year! The SunBox light box can help fight winter blues and treat Seasonal Affective Disorder – SAD by increasing the serotonin levels in the brain, which boost your mood. Just 15-30 minutes of light therapy each morning can have you feeling better within days.

The post Boost Your Body’s Depression Fighters appeared first on SunBox.