DIY light therapy for winter???

[AnyDream]

After 5 years in the glorious winter sunlight of Canberra, I had forgotten how gloomy and dark an Adelaide winter can be. I think it might be having an effect on my mood, and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on do it yourself light therapy?

For example, is there a particular sort of light bulb I can put into our regular light fittings for the best effect during the daytime? Is is just about brightness or the spectrum of the light as well?

[*charmalea*]

MD , i cant help you with the light bulb thingy , maybe there is a book out there somewhere that can help.

i just wanted to pop in and say , light therapy would be an ideal way to lift your mood .
i suffer from SAD ( seasonal affective disorder) (along with PND , OCD and ANX) .. every winter sure as eggs my mood plummets and im just not happy as soon as the weather gets hotter and the days longer , i get a little bit better , then in the height of summer im fine AD or not , i can cope , but when the days get shorter again , it starts all over again , i try and use coulor therapy , but not to a huge extent , light therapy would be something i would consider too ....

did you end up looking into it ??

[AnyDream]

I ended up reading a bit more and I'm convinced I should be able to a get a good quality compact fluoro that has a broad spectrum...I have been meaning to go down to the lighting shop and ask them about it. If I get something I will post again and let you know. Medically there are light boxes that you can sit in front of for however long each day that are supposed to help - as will any time you get out in the SUNLIGHT - esp if you can expose you skin to a bit of sun as that will boost Vit D levels which can have a huge impact on mood and anxiety. Anyway, still working on it but we've had a bit more sunlight of late so I'm not feeling it as bad as I was before.

[Phteven]

What about the hydro shop? They sell some really powerful lamps that are designed to mimic sunlight.