The state of short-term depressive states is familiar to everyone. It is worth noting that the term "depression" is used in medicine not only to characterize a temporary deterioration in mood and loss of strength, but also in compiling a clinical picture of a serious disease of the nervous system. In the treatment of depressive disorders, a wide variety of techniques are used. One way to get rid of the symptoms of this disease is light therapy.
The main principle of light therapeutic effects on the body is the use of special lamps that mimic the sun's rays. When it enters the retina of the human eye, light has a beneficial effect on biological rhythms, which leads to a decrease in the symptoms of depression or a complete cure for this disease.
The specifics of treating depression with light therapy:
- the patient can freely move around the room equipped with special lighting equipment, while being in a vertical or horizontal position is absolutely not necessary;
- the patient should have a minimum amount of clothing so that as many parts of the body as possible are exposed to light;
- the walls and ceiling in the room used in the treatment of light therapy should be painted mainly in white or light green;
- light therapy is contraindicated in patients with eye diseases and oncological abnormalities.
Light therapy is most effective in the treatment of seasonal depression that occurs due to lack of daylight and manifests itself mainly in the autumn and winter. Artificial rays, acting on the human body, normalize vegetative functions, which directly affects the mental state and leads to the elimination of depression.
Signs of seasonal depression:
- tendency to overeat;
- fatigue;
- drowsiness;
- difficulty concentrating;
- a sharp decrease in disability;
- depressed mood;
- loss of sex drive.
Scientists have proved that people living in different parts of the planet are prone to depression to varying degrees due to the significant difference in daylight hours. Light therapy is an artificial method of increasing the amount of daylight that a person receives per day. When implementing this technique, fluorescent and dichroic lamps are used, as well as special laser devices.