Philips introduces advanced light therapy device to avoid winter
blues
November 2008
Royal Philips Electronics has introduced the goLITE BLU, a new
therapy light designed as a safe, simple and effective solution to help
beat the winter blues.
In winter time, many people in northern countries are affected by the
increased darkness and experience what is known as the winter blues.
Symptoms of the winter blues may include lethargy, lowered mood,
problems sleeping, carbohydrate cravings and weight gain.
Light therapy has been shown to improve mood and energy by regulating
our internal body clock or circadian rhythms — the body's 24-hour cycle
of activity and sleep related to light. According to Dan Adams, a
research manager at Philips Home Healthcare Solutions, "The body clock
is stimulated by blue light like the blue found in the summer sky. In
the winter we get less of this light and so many people suffer from the
winter blues. "
Light therapy is a natural way of beating the winter blues without
the use of drugs or artificial stimulants. Results can be felt within a
few days with as little 15 to 20 minutes of use per day.
"The goLITE BLU represents significant improvements in portable blue
light therapy," says Adams. "Science has shown that to stimulate the
body clock we don't need intense white light. This is because a person's
body clock can respond up to two times greater to blue light than to
white light and white light is 50 times more intense. Our Bluewave
technology, which is incorporated into the goLITE BLU, dramatically
reduces the overall intensity of light as compared to bright white
therapy devices and can help minimize potential side effects such as
eyestrain, glare and headaches."
The benefits of light therapy can include improved mood, energy,
sleep and a sense of relief from the winter blues. Light therapy can
also be used by shift workers or those who travel across time zones and
have issues pertaining to jet lag.
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