Archive for the ‘Light Therapy’ Category

Working out in the morning is often the best way to get into a workout program and stick with it. But recent research under way at Appalachian State University suggests that there are other benefits to morning workouts, too.

Photo by Jhayne via Flickr

Dr. Scott Collier’s research subjects exercised at 7am, 1pm, and 7pm, and then were monitored for sleep cycles and blood pressure. Subjects were between 40 and 60 and exercised moderately for 30 minutes. The study found a 10% decrease in blood pressure throughout the entire day and a 35% dip at night, as well as longer and more beneficial sleep cycles ONLY for the group exercising at 7am.

Lowering blood pressure is a proven strategy to avoid a heart attack. And who wouldn’t like to sleep better?  Yet if you’re a night owl who has a hard time waking up in the morning, it may feel impossible to get up early for workouts. That’s where light assistance comes in. Exposure to light at 500-3,000 lux can reset your inner clock so that you almost feel like a morning person. Then you can gain the most from the  morning exercise.

Here’s what we recommend for easier morning wake ups and exercise:

Use the Biobrite Sunrise Clock to make it easier to wake up and feel alert.

Photo by lululemon athletic via Flickr

Use light therapy in the morning to re-train your inner clock so that you’re less of a night owl. *In fact, with a  light visor, you can work out and receive light benefits at the same time, wearing it on a walk or a stationery bike.

By combining light therapy, and a morning exercise routine, you’ll reach your 2013 fitness  and health goals in no time.

http://www.news.appstate.edu/2011/06/13/early-morning-exercise/

Photo by USAG-Humphreys via Flickr.

About 5.2 million adults in the United States have PTSD during a given year. When you have PTSD, a traumatic event such as abuse, assault, a serious accident, or combat exposure triggers serious symptoms and make it hard to function. These symptoms include flashbacks, numbness to feelings, a constant alert for dangers like those you previously experienced, and difficulty sleeping. Sleep problems affect 70-90% of people with PTSD.

According to the National Center for PTSD, which is a division of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD occurs in about 11-20% of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war.

It’s a tragedy that America’s men and women in uniform might suffer for months and years because of the experiences they’ve had serving our country. We all grieve for our soldiers and their families. Regardless of political differences, Americans stand united in our dedication to help.

At BioBrite we’re proud to know that we make a product, our light therapy visor, that can make a real difference for people who suffer from PTSD. Researchers from the University of South Carolina report significant effects from a study of 16 soldiers who received light therapy 30 minutes a day. Study coordinator Shannon Cornelius, Ph.D., commented, “Because bright light therapy is a relatively simple, self-administered, inexpensive treatment with few side effects, these results are an important step to further establish the efficacy of bright light therapy as an alternative or adjunct treatment for combat-related PTSD.”

The study found significant effects on sleep. And soldiers who slept better also had relief from depression and anxiety. As Dr. Cornelius commented, sleep and other symptoms of PTSD can interact in a “vicious cycle.” Common pharmaceutical treatments for depression can cause insomnia and have other side effects. Light therapy’s natural remedy is safe and effective, and people with PTSD deserve nothing less than to know its benefits.

What’s on your back to school shopping list?

While shopping for pencils and notebooks, don’t forget to include a SunRise Clock. Of all the back to school items you might consider, this amazing clock has the most potential to improve your student’s readiness to learn, athletic performance, and academic success.

Research confirms the importance of a good night’s sleep for everyone, especially sleep deprived teenagers. Their biological clocks are naturally set to a relatively late sleep schedule. Add the nightly digital distractions that most teenagers love, and the National Sleep Foundation reports that only 20% of teenagers get sufficient sleep at night. Research confirms that teenagers are the last people who should be waking early, yet most have to arrive at school very early and stay late to fit sports practices and other activities into a crowded day.

While sleep challenges are likely to persist throughout the school year, September is the cruelest month. If teenagers follow their inclination and stay up late and sleep in all summer, going back to school can be, literally, a rude awakening. Teenagers accustomed to sleeping until noon will be way out of sync with the schedule they’ll need to follow in September. Many of those students will be sleeping in class and drinking coffee and energy drinks to try to stay awake. You probably can’t fight the school schedule, but you can help smooth your teenager’s transition from summer sleep patterns to the September school schedule. SunRise Clocks are an effective remedy for that too-early school bus. They mimic a natural sunrise each morning, and the gradually brightening light will wake your student naturally, helping them start the day with more energy and alertness. Parents also love the fact that the SunRise Clock wakes teens so effectively, avoiding the need for those nagging wake up calls and morning arguments that can leave the whole family starting the day in a bad mood.

It’s almost fall, and some of us are experiencing the fall funkies, the winter blues, or just the blahs, which increase as you experience less daylight and more gray days – a natural response actually, but not one that needs to overwhelm you. Get control of the seasonal cycle this time by using a light box or visor for your lux therapy, and a dawn simulator to help reprogram your body’s clock.

Let us know how we can help you with your fall/winter blues!

And, check out what our friends at Best New Alarm Clocks.com have to say about the SunRise Alarm Clock in Charcoal, and post your own review!

“Really great product, good company This is a super product that provides a great way to wake up in the mornings. We wake up much easier and more refreshed with the Sunrise Clock. Great find.”

“Before buying the BioBrite clock, I read in one of the earlier reviews that the method of programming the clock was rather complex– This is not true.”

“I received my BioBrite a month ago and have been using it ever since. It’s fairly easy to set up and works really well for me.”

“What a fabulous alternative to a shrill alarm jarring you awake out of a deep slumber. The Biobrite is a sunrise clock that really works.”

“I have one window to my bedroom and not much light gets in at all. Before i got this when I woke up I had no idea if it was 6AM or 10AM.”

…And many more…

August is upon us! Here in Maryland, instead of our normal humid weather, we’ve been blessed with cool undercurrents. The breeze is blowing and the sun is shining indoors and out! Check out our latest SunRise Alarm review from our Fan of the Day – an Amazon.com commenter by the handle “Candy Austinlady.” She writes:

THIS is the one to buy!

“I had a cheaper other-brand version of a progression wake up clock for a couple of years, but it wasn’t bright enough. This one …is bright enough! I use the sunset with white noise to fall asleep and wake up to the sun gradually rising in my room. Completely awesome. I wake up before the alarm can even go off. And I don’t feel jarred away by some big blaring noise and I wake up feeling awake and not drugged. This is a must – I’m not exactly a morning person, but I’m able to wake up by 6am and not be the mommy-monster!

“Yes, they are a bit more than your $10 Wal-Mart alarm, but it’s worth every single penny!”

Check out her review and others like it on our Amazon seller pages.

Confused about light therapy? Check out MayoClinic.com’s great article on the subject and find out why it’s an effective treatment for several conditions including OCD, jetlag, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, shift work and postpartum depression. You might also want to see their piece on circadian rhythm disorders. A BioBrite dawn simulation clock, visor or light box could be what you need to help ease your symptoms. Feel free to contact us on our site www.BioBrite.com with any questions or concerns about light therapy treatment. As always, you should check with your doctor before starting any treatment.

The summer is upon us! Are you waking peacefully or to the rush of fear shocked through your system by the bleet of a conventional alarm clock? Treat yourself to sunshine during the sunniest months and let us know how you feel! All of our models come with a 30-day no-questions-asked money back guarantee. But, once you try our clock, we have a feeling you’re going to want to use it every morning after.

Whether you’re a mother looking for the perfect infant-soothing device, a college student not wanting to wake their roommate when rising for an early AM class, shopping for an older person who loathes traditional screeching alarms, or anyone in between, you’ll benefit from our clock’s unique design.

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The timing of light signals can be as important as how much light we receive. When the biological clock receives light signals at the wrong time of day, it can become out of sync with the real world, creating havoc with sleep patterns, digestion and other activities. This phenomenon, called “circadian dysrthmia,” is most often experienced in “jet lag” – another condition that responds well to carefully timed use of bright light technology.

Scientific research has shown that light at specific times during your body’s circadian cycle sets your clock Eastward and at other times, Westward. So the key is to seek bright light at the correct time and avoid sunlight at specific times. The timing is crucial. Light at the wrong time during a trip to Europe could send your sleep patterns to Hawaii! BioBrite offers the easy-to-use Jet Lag Combat Kit (with Light Visor) (#88200) and booklet “Preventing Jet Lag,” which tells you exactly how to use light to rapidly shift your biological clock to the new time zone. Any bright light source which is not standard room lighting will work, particularly the sun, but since light may be needed at night or on the plane, the Light Visor in the Jet Lag Combat Kit is the only practical choice.

By the same token, our other Light Visors and light boxes can help with certain sleep disorders which require the reset of circadian rhythms. Look for our upcoming entry concerning these sleep disorders on your friend lists and community posts!

Did you know about sleep debt? If you lose two hours of sleep a night, by the end of the week you owe yourself 12 hours of sleep! This sleep debt can feel even worse on top of stress or erratic sleeping patterns. Fortunately, there are ways to help ease the tension caused by sleep problems.

There are several classifications of sleep disorders. Light therapy is an effective treatment for a branch of disorders concerning circadian rhythm disruption. Disorders such as late night- (Delayed Circadian Rhythm Disorder) and early morning-insomnia (Advanced Circadian Rhythm Disorder) are especially aided by this type of therapy.

The BioBrite SolarMax Light Visor Using light therapy at strategic times can help you to reset your body’s internal clock and combat jet lag, fatigue, insomnia, and sleeping patterns due to shift work, because when you expose yourself to light at certain times, your body gets used to the new biological cues.

For those with a milder sleep debt, dawn simulation can be a soothing aid. Dawn simulation is not akin to light therapy, but both can work together to help shift circadian rhythms that are out of sync. Dawn simulation helps the user wake during hours before the first crack of sunlight. With a BioBrite SunRise Alarm Clock, a warm, glowing light gradually increases before reaching full brightness; mimicking the natural dawn, coaxing the user out of sleep efficiently and restfully. It can be very soothing to rise in this manner instead of jolting awake to an annoying traditional alarm in a dark room!

With light therapy, a patient sits at a prescribed distance from a light box for a certain length of time. That length is usually prescribed by a doctor, depending on the patient’s needs. The standard lux requirement is 10,000 lux at between 18 and 20 inches and the treatment should be every morning, from 20 minutes to an hour. The light box is great for those who have more sedentary schedules in the mornings. If they desire mobility, the patient may prefer to use a light visor, usually in the mornings after waking. By wearing a visor on your head, the light is positioned above the eyes more naturally than with a light box. And, because the light has further to travel to reach your eyes, the treatment time is usually cut in half. You should consult with your eye doctor before trying light therapy to see whether a box or a visor is best for you.

The SunRay Light Box Note: With light therapy, your eyes must be open in order to receive treatment. Because with the dawn simulator your eyes are closed, dawn simulation is not a viable source of light therapy.

Check out our Web site to view the products discussed here. Feel free to give us a call with any questions at the number on our site!

The BioBrite EZ Wake SunRise Alarm Clock We invite you to visit our site at www.BioBrite.com!

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