Anxiety
How Does Light Therapy Have An Impact On My Mental Health?
The latest research is now normalizing light therapy as a break-through treatment for certain mental health disorders. These disorders include seasonal depression, suicidal ideations, and traumatic brain injuries.
You might be wondering, "How can light waves have such an impact on our emotions and overall mental health?" The magic behind light's effect on the brain lies within its effect on mitochondria and blood flow through the vessels of the brain. The brain is a highly complex organ, and increased blood flow to the brain is the one of the most essential components in all of it's processes.
How Does this Benefit my Overall Health?
We know that many individuals suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), a mood disorder that is not only present in humans but animals as well. SAD effects over 3% of the general population and over 20% of those already suffering with depression. Mammals naturally thrive on the presence of sunlight and can be impacted negatively when sunlight is absent for prolonged periods of time.
The waves produced by PBM hold unprecedentedly similar properties to that of natural sunlight. Therefore, this light therapy has shown incredible results in individuals who suffer from depressive disorders such as SAD, as well as more clinical depression, anxiety disorders and even PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
What Science is Telling Us
"In this study, we have demonstrated a modest improvement of SAD depression symptoms after a single light session"
"More importantly, any immediate mood improvement can help alleviate hopelessness in patients dealing with depression."
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5336550/