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In addition to mood, learning and memory become impaired when the circadian system shifts due to light stimuli, [6] [20] which can be seen in studies modeling jet lag and shift work situations. [4] Frontal and parietal lobe areas involved in working memory have been implicated in melanopsin responses to light information. [20]
An example system can consist of a light source (generally a laser or a lamp), a controller for the amount of light that enters, a guide for the light, and a delivery system. Often, the design function in such a way that a medium is met between the diffusing light that may cause additional, unwanted photolysis and light attenuation; both being ...
Light therapy, also called phototherapy or bright light therapy is the exposure to direct sunlight or artificial light at controlled wavelengths in order to treat a variety of medical disorders, including seasonal affective disorder (SAD), circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, cancers, and skin wound infections.
Bright light therapy, widely understood to be an effective treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), can also be helpful in treating other types of depression, finds a new meta-analysis ...
The history of light therapy can be traced back to ancient Egypt and India, where therapy with natural sunlight was first used to treat leucoderma. [3] In the 1850s, Florence Nightingale's advocacy of exposure to clean air and sunlight for health restoration also contributed to the initial development of light therapy for treatments. [4]
Light therapy, which involves a bright light exposure of thousands of lux of white light or about 400 lux of blue light on awakening to counteract the tendency for circadian rhythms to delay (similar to treatment for delayed sleep phase disorder [6] and seasonal affective disorder), is not currently recommended until more studies appear ...
A circadian rhythm is an entrainable, endogenous, biological activity that has a period of roughly twenty-four hours. This internal time-keeping mechanism is centralized in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of humans, and allows for the internal physiological mechanisms underlying sleep and alertness to become synchronized to external environmental cues, like the light-dark cycle. [4]
Seasonal affective disorder may occur as a result of deficiencies in zeitgebers (such as light) during the winter months that stimulate the reward activation system, resulting in a depressed mood. Some studies have pointed to the hormone melatonin, which is regulated by circadian rhythms, as a possible mechanism. [ 15 ]