Q: I get depressed during the winter and have heard that SAD lamps can help. Is that true?
Shorter, darker and colder days can leave many people feeling down during the winter months, said Dr. Raymond Lam, a researcher who studies depression at the University of British Columbia. Energy can dip. Motivation may wane, and a general feeling of sadness can set in.
This general funk, often referred to as the winter blues, is caused by less exposure to natural light. If those mood changes become severe and start interfering with your daily life between the fall and spring or summer, they can turn into a form of depression called seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.
The good news is that light therapy, which involves exposing your eyes to simulated sunshine, can help.
How Light Affects Mood
When sunlight enters your eyes, it signals to your brain to stop producing the hormone melatonin, which normally makes you feel sleepy, said Mariana Figueiro, a scientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City who studies how light influences health.
As a result, you feel more alert, which can lift your mood, Dr. Figueiro said. At the same time, sunlight may increase your brain’s production of serotonin, which plays an important role in regulating emotions and helping you feel focused, happy and calm.
Exposing yourself to bright artificial light can help replace the sunlight’s missing cues during the fall and winter. It typically involves sitting in front of a light therapy box (or SAD lamp) for about 30 minutes every morning.
What Studies Show
Researchers have been studying light therapy for decades. In 2006, Dr. Lam and his team published a small clinical trial on patients with seasonal depression that found that light therapy was about as effective as the antidepressant Prozac at improving their moods.
More recent analyses of clinical trials on light therapy, including one published in 2020 and another in 2024, concluded that light therapy was better than placebo treatments at improving the symptoms of seasonal depression.
“The research is really quite compelling,” said Dr. Dorothy Sit, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine.
Although most light therapy studies have focused on people with SAD, Dr. Lam and Dr. Sit said that the treatment could help people with less severe symptoms, too.
How to Make Light Therapy Work for You
If you decide to try using a SAD lamp, experts offered several tips.
Use a lamp with 10,000 lux. Research suggests that it’s important to use a SAD lamp that has enough brightness, measured in lux, to be effective. Most artificially lit rooms expose you to around 200 to 510 lux, which is not enough, Dr. Lam said. The sweet spot seems to be 10,000 lux, he said. For most people, that’s bright enough to be effective, but not so bright that it causes eye discomfort.
Use your lamp in the morning. The earlier you use your SAD lamp, the better, said Dr. Katherine Sharkey, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Morning sunlight is responsible for signaling to your brain that it’s time to wake up, reducing melatonin and making you feel more alert and upbeat.
If you can’t use your SAD lamp shortly after you wake up, try to use it within a few hours of doing so, and ideally before noon, Dr. Sharkey said. If you use it too late in the day, it won’t be as effective, and it may even disrupt your sleep by tricking your brain into thinking it’s still daytime.
Expose your face for about 30 minutes. Sitting or standing with the lamp about 12 to 24 inches from your face for about half an hour should improve your mood and help you feel less sluggish, Dr. Sharkey said. You don’t need to stare right at it, she added — you can read, watch TV, use the computer or talk on the phone.
Be consistent. If you don’t notice an improvement in your mood after a session or two, don’t give up, Dr. Sit said. Most people need consistent use for a few weeks before they start feeling better. And those improvements can dissipate quickly when you stop using your lamp, such as within a day or two, she said, so try to stick with it. “It involves a bit of commitment,” she said.
Incorporate other strategies. SAD lamps can be effective at tackling seasonal depression, but many people need a combination of approaches to feel better, Dr. Sit said. Pairing light therapy with exercise, a nutritious diet and regular social activities can make the darker days more tolerable.
And be sure to tell your doctor if you want to try light therapy, Dr. Sit said. A medical professional can help you track how you’re feeling and suggest solutions. If your low mood persists, you may decide to try other depression treatments, such as antidepressant medications or talk therapy, as well.
Caroline Hopkins Legaspi is a Times reporter focusing on nutrition and sleep.
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