In 1984, Dr Norman Rosenthal and his colleagues published a seminal research paper on seasonal affective disorder (SAD), unveiling what they were convinced was the healing power of light therapy for people suffering from the illness. Since then, many scientific and medical communities have come to believe that the therapeutic use of light holds great promise for not only SAD, but also a variety of other disorders. This wide-ranging book combines in a single, cohesive reference new findings with a summary of the available literature on light therapy. Seventeen clinicians studying the effects and uses of light treatment, discuss the impact of light and light therapy on such conditions as SAD, premenstrual depression, circadian phase sleep disorders, jet lag, shift work disorders, insomnia and behavioural disturbances. Challenging conventional thinking about light therapy, several contributing authors make cases for its positive effects in treating nonseasonal depression, bulimia nervosa and other illnesses.
Finally, members of a joint task force of the Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms and the American Sleep Disorders Association explore the use of light for treating sleep disorders, as well as a combination of light and melatonin in some cases.