Insomnia Light Therapy

The light from this box mimics outdoor light which is important for regulating your body.

Insomnia light therapy.

If you are working with your primary care doctor or a sleep specialist for insomnia you can ask if this is an appropriate treatment for you. Make sure your room is dark while you sleep. Light therapy might be indicated if you have tried other forms of treatment or if your doctor thinks your particular insomnia symptoms call for this mode of therapy. Insomnia can be treated in a growing number of ways pharmacologic and non pharmacologic including light therapy.

The internal clock in people with insomnia is often off which causes them to struggle when it comes to sleep. Phototherapy also called light therapy is an effective therapy for people whose insomnia is due to a problem called delayed sleep phase syndrome. With an earlier timed circadian rhythm they may be able to fall asleep and wake earlier following a regime of morning light therapy. Using a light therapy box may also help with other types of depression sleep disorders and other conditions.

If you are struggling to sleep well at night especially with insomnia or a circadian rhythm disorder try regularly exposing yourself to morning sunlight. Light therapy is thought to affect brain chemicals linked to mood and sleep easing sad symptoms. So if you have primary insomnia light therapy can be a simple enough process if you follow these steps. Light therapy might be indicated if you have tried other forms of treatment or if your doctor thinks your particular insomnia symptoms call for this mode of therapy.

However light therapy shows major signs of improvement in people and for people who struggle with moderate to mild insomnia light therapy can most certainly be the cure. Unlike sleeping pills cbt i helps you overcome the underlying causes of your sleep problems. Insomnia as we ve learned is not an illness unto itself but a set of symptoms usually secondary to other maladies including poor sleep hygiene medical conditions medications and social and psychological problems like depression and anxiety disorders. Onset insomnia who are having difficulty falling asleep until quite late e g.

In some cases light therapy can be helpful for people with insomnia. In light therapy you sit near a special light box for a certain amount of time each day. People with this disorder have a problem with their body s sleep clock such that they have a difficult time falling asleep until much later in the evening or night than they wish and therefore wake up later than they wish in the next morning. A great thing about light therapy is that it can be an effective treatment that doesn t require a prescription an appointment or if you use the sun a co pay.