“The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.”
Psalms 74:16
On the first day, God creates light. On the fourth day He adds the sun, moon and stars. That is not without reason. It makes the distinction between day and night clear, but it is also a natural way of indicating days and years. Sunlight is the most important natural signal to tune our biological clock. That is one of the reasons why sunlight is one of the eight pillars of a healthy lifestyle.
Sufficient daylight?
When it gets dark at night, that triggers the body to produce melatonin, the sleep hormone. Bright morning light is a sign to wake up, be alert and active. It can be difficult to be outside enough during the day to expose ourselves to the bright light. For example, due to work, weather conditions or the short days in autumn and winter.
This can lead to a discrepancy between the real time and the internal biological clock. In turn, this can lead to various health problems. Many scientific studies have been conducted into the effect of light and light therapy on the health and well-being of people. An imbalance of your day-night rhythm can have major consequences, such as a higher risk of various chronic conditions, such as obesity, heart problems, diabetes, sleeping problems and depression.
Light therapy
Light therapy can be used as a simple, natural remedy. Light therapy is a treatment that mimics natural morning light. If you apply this early in the day, it will make your biorhythm more balanced with day and night. This has many benefits for your health and well-being, such as more energy, feeling better and sleeping better.
What is it? How does it work?
Light therapy stimulates a special type of light-sensitive cells on the retina in the eyes: photosensitive retinal ganglion cells. When these cells are activated, they send a signal to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, an area in the brain, to suppress the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. This makes you feel more energetic, positive and alert.
Lamp or glasses
You can apply light therapy by means of a daylight lamp or light therapy glasses.
Daylight lamp
The lamp is effective but has several drawbacks. With the light therapy lamp you are bound to a fixed place during the treatment, which usually lasts for 30 minutes. You also have to look in a certain direction and sit a short distance from the lamp. For good effectiveness, the light therapy lamp should have a light intensity of 10,000 lux. This is comparable to daylight on a sunny day. There are users who experience this as too bright.
Light therapy glasses
The light therapy glasses do not have all these disadvantages. The light therapy glasses use blue light. The light intensity is much lower, because it only uses the active part from the white light. The light doesn’t shine directly into the eyes, but above them. The light is therefore more comfortable for the eyes and the effect of these glasses is comparable to the lamp.
The AYO light therapy glasses can be used by everyone due to the easy-to-adjust nose support and flexible arms. The daylight glasses from AYO can be combined with regular glasses.
You can wear the light glasses during your activities. It therefore doesn’t take any extra time. During the session, the blue light from the glasses reaches the eyes continuously and evenly. So, no worries about distance or movement restrictions.
(Winter) depression
For certain conditions light therapy is very effective.
It is effective for various types of depression and sleeping problems. Light therapy has been extensively studied in persons with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD or winter depression). Light therapy has a very positive effect on this. But also with major depressive disorder, that is not dependent on the season, a bipolar disorder and postpartum depression, light therapy has a positive effect.
Sleep problems
Light therapy can offer a solution for various sleeping problems, from difficulty falling asleep on time, and waking up during the night, to difficulty getting up in the morning. Even if the sleep disorder is related to Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease, light therapy can help restore the biorhythm.
Finally, the use of a daylight lamp or light glasses can help with jet lag and irregular working hours, such as during night shifts.
Usage
Research shows that the blue-turquoise 470-475 nm light with an emission of 250 uW/cm2 is the best wavelength for correcting the circadian rhythm. This light is used in the light therapy glasses. The optimal effect is achieved if the session lasts 20 minutes. The timing of the light treatment depends on your personal circumstances and the goals you want to achieve.
Interested in light therapy glasses?
The AYOlite light therapy glasses are now for sale at Word and Well-being. Are you interested? Click here to go to the webshop.
An appropriate gift is ready for the first 10 customers to celebrate the opening of the webshop together! We only ship for free to addresses in The Netherlands.
You can ask questions about light therapy by sending an e-mail to info@woordenwelzijn.nl. I would like to help you.
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