- Before embarking on a light therapy treatment plan, talk to your physician or psychiatrist about whether or not light therapy is the best treatment for you. Depending on your specific situation, he may recommend light therapy treatment on its own, or in conjunction with other forms of treatment, and he may have specific suggestions about light boxes and the level of light you need to be exposed to.
- Depending on your symptoms and the severity of your condition, your doctor will be able to counsel you on choosing a light source. For some, exposure to sunlight for a period of time each day will be enough; however, in more severe cases, or during winter when access to sunlight is limited, you may need to seek out a light box containing fluorescent lamps and a diffusing screen.
- Again, your doctor will best be able to guide you on choosing the right amount of light, based on your specific situation. Bright sunlight emits as much as 20,000 lux (a unit of light flow). In comparison, the lighting in your living room is probably somewhere around 100 lux, and daylight on a cloudy winter day might be 5,000 lux. To effectively treat symptoms of depression or SAD, you'll need to receive levels of light therapy similar to outdoor light on a sunny day.
- Treatment time will depend on your condition and the level of light you are receiving. The amount of treatment time needed for a 10,000 lux light source will be less than that needed for a 2,500 lux source, and treatment times can run anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours, respectively.