It's amazing how effective is bright light. The general prescription is one hour of outdoor sunshine, or 30 minutes of intense bright light therapy early in the morning. Most ordinary household lights aren't bright enough (10,000 lux).

For myself, and others I've talked to ... when you're feeling well, the bright light doesn't seem to make any difference ... you don't notice it. But if you stop it ... things plummet fairly quickly .. mood, energy levels. Start up the light therapy again ... vavoom! Feeling better, and quickly too. So there's the paradox .. you have to use it every single day, even when you feel great and energetic.

I'm trying to track down a study I read about last year ... where they're using bright light therapy to also control some eating disorders ... Compulsive Overeating and Nighttime Overeating. I believe the prescription was 15 or 30 minutes of intense light therapy in the late afternoon ... It's supposed to suppress melatonin levels and other hormones which can lead to cravings and binges at night.

Doreen