I  thought I read in my research somewhere that a light box would have no affect on those without Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Anyone seen any of the papers on this? I was at a conference today (Inspire Scotland 06) where one of the speakers (Janey Lee Grace) said that she used one in winter to help her feel good and a couple of the attendees had tried this too and benefitted from it.

Janey’s website http://www.imperfectlynaturalwoman.com is all about looking good and feeling good using all natural products - good for you as well as the planet. And she believes a light box may be a way to feel good naturally for most people.

Great account in the Scotsman from a Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferer and the change brought about when she bought a light box.

Scotsman.com Living - Let there be light

technorati tags:Seasonal+Affective+Disorder, SAD, winter

The Solatube looks like a good solution for adding natural light to rooms more cost-effectively than building a skylight. It’s akind of tubular skylight which looks like a circular skylight in the ceiling and fits well with modern interiors.

There is lots of information and a picture in the article below if you’re interested. The company’s website www.solatube.com has less information but does have details about world-wide distribution and more pictures.

CITIZEN-TIMES.com: REAL ESTATE IN SHAPE: Natural light comes indoors with Solatube

technorati tags:SAD, Seasonal+Affective+Disorder, natural+light

This is the Luminous Elyptical Sky Ceiling by the Sky Factory which emits light to give an illusion that you have a real view of the sky.

The light is daylight balanced light apparently at the same level used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder and although the picture doesn’t change you can arrange for the lightto dim when appropriate.

Shame about the price - about $300+ a square foot.

Note and correction: Following Bill’s comment, it seems the price is a lot cheaper than that - $95 a square foot which puts it much more in reach

The Future of Things

technorati tags:SAD, Seasonal+Affective+Disorder, Sky+Factory

Not sure why but sellers of light therapy products seem to have been banned from using words like SAD and depression in the UK according to this press release.

“Manufacturers and sellers of light therapy devices, often called SAD lights, are banned from using the words SAD, depression, depressed mood, lethargic, lack of energy and libido in their advertising. This ruling is enforced even when advertisers are trying to educate the public of the difference between SAD and a more general ‘winter blues’.”

I’m sure that more information on this will come out soon - it just seems ridiculous.

Response Source | Press Releases - It’s SAD, but mention of depression, lethargy or lack of libido is BANNED!

technorati tags:SAD, Advertising, Seasonal+Affective+Disorder

Someone posted this link over at the SAD support group I subscribe to. It shows the number of hours you might expect at particular times of the year.

Hours of Daylight by Latitude - Table - MSN Encarta

I struggled though with knowing where in the world different latitudes were and as I couldn’t find my trusty school atlas I found this list of places names with all kinds of data (including latitude)

http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/surface/stations.txt

Apparently the UK is around 50 degrees North….feels worse on some days but the past few weeks the weather has been kind with lots of sunny days.