Unfortunately
our modern lifestyles cause many of us to rise before the sun comes
up, not have exposure to a great deal of natural sunlight during
the day and then stay awake well beyond sunset. Most of the
light that hits our eyes offers a measly 300-500 lux, whereas bright,
natural sunlight offers up to 100,000 lux. However, our lifestyles
are not always to blame, as in many European countries, during
winter we are never guaranteed a great deal of bright sunlight!
The outcome of this is that our natural sleep
times will overlap with regular awake activities such as work,
school, exercise or socialising. This can lead to us
feeling sluggish, tired and lacklustre for large periods of the
day - and is clearly a contributor to irritability, depression
and other disorders.
Powerful
Sleep & Greater Energy
Overlapping circadian rhythms (caused by a lack
of light/sunlight to the eyes, which in turn causes the lack of
correct hormonal production) can have three negative consequences:
1. Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS)
This involves the internal body clock losing synchronisation
with the morning-rise / evening-sleep pattern of the majority of
adults.
The bottom line is that is leads to individuals falling asleep
far later into the night than is normal, or that they would like
to. The negative consequence of this is that they then wake
up much later the next day, or if they have to get up for work
or school enjoy far less sleep than their body needs.
2. Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome (ASPS)
This is the opposite of DSPS in which the individual
is unable to stay awake until the desired time in the evening and
then awakens earlier than necessary.
3. Free-running or Non-24-hour sleep-wake rhythm
This occurs when an individual inadvertently
delays the time they go to sleep and then attempt
to sleep at a conventional time. In other words, they
fall asleep at a different time each day. This most common with
blind people.
The good news is that light therapy is effective
at treating each of these situations regardless of the degree to
which they are experienced. You do not have to be diagnosed
or be suffering to use light therapy - it can help almost 99% of
people to sleep more powerfully and awaken with more freshness
and energy than ever before!
By using light therapy,
individuals are able to control the amount of light (lux) that
their eyes receive
each day, which helps to balance and correct their circadian
rhythms - meaning that they are able to achieve restful sleep
at the right time and wake gently and feel refreshed and energised
each day.
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