Seeing the Light of an Improved Mood – Michigan Medicine

Looking outside at another cloudy sky, on another dreary winter day in the Midwest?

Experts say it makes sense that a lack of sunshine leaves us grumpy and tired.

The antidepressant properties of sunlight have been known since antiquity, says Leslie Swanson, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at Michigan Medicine and an expert in behavioral sleep medicine at the Michigan Medicine Sleep Disorders Centers. Morning bright light is an effective antidepressant for both seasonal affective disorder and non-seasonal depression.

Swanson says bright light increases mood-positive neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, in the parts of the brain that regulate mood. And you can reap those benefits using a light therapy box in your own home, if a sunny morning walk or commute to work isnt feasible.

And you may find yourself sleeping better, too. Swanson says morning bright light can resynchronize your internal clock and realign your circadian rhythms with your sleep-wake patterns, which improves sleep and increases alertness.

While anyone can find a boost from light therapy, Swanson notes it can be most powerful for people struggling with seasonal affective disorder or depression, along with those wanting to sleep better.

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People who live further from the equator say, for example, in the Mitten State can be more vulnerable to seasonal affective disorder during dramatic seasonal reductions in light exposure, Swanson says.

She adds that people with eye conditions, people who use a medication that increases light sensitivity, people who have a medical condition like lupus that can impact light sensitivity, or those who have a history of bipolar disorder shouldnt try light therapy on their own talk to your physician first.

Swanson has her patients start by sitting in front of a light therapy box for half an hour each day, as soon as possible after waking up.

Make sure whatever device you choose filters out ultraviolet light, which can damage eyes and skin, she says.

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Seeing the Light of an Improved Mood - Michigan Medicine