Bright Light Therapy And Finding An Insomnia Cure

Bright light therapy can be particularly useful in the case of two out of the three main types on insomnia: "Initial" insomnia and "Late" or "Terminal" insomnia.

Initial Insomnia

If you suffer from initial insomnia (sometimes also referred to as sleep onset insomnia), your major difficulty lies in getting to sleep. Once asleep, you will often sleep reasonably well, but may find it hard to get up in the mornings.

Initial insomnia is often seen in younger people and some studies suggest that it affects about seven percent of people attending sleep treatment clinics.

In this case your body clock has shifted so that instead of telling your brain that it is time to go to sleep at say ten or eleven o'clock in the evening, it does not send out these signals until perhaps one or two o'clock in the morning.

Similarly, when your body clock should be telling your brain to get up at seven or eight in the morning, you body clock is still set for sleep and won't be sending out the necessary wake up signals until about ten or eleven o'clock in the morning.

To re-adjust the body clock bright light therapy is best used in the morning to get you up and going, and its use over a period of several days will gradually move your body clock back to coincide with your normal sleeping routine.

Late or Terminal Insomnia

If you suffer from late (or terminal) insomnia, your main problem is waking too early in the morning. Normally, getting to sleep presents little difficulty, but you wake after a relatively short period of insufficient sleep.

In this case your body clock is set too early telling you to go to sleep before it is time to do so and similarly telling you to get up far too early.

In the case of late insomnia light therapy needs to be applied during the early evening to re-adjust your body clock and, again, using it consistently over a period of several days will move your body clock back to coincide with your normal sleeping routine.

Next >>> Bright light therapy and night shift working

Best sellers from

I Can Make You Sleep: Overcome Insomnia Forever and Get the Best Rest of Your...
by Paul McKenna
Amazon Price: $15.61
Customer Review: I'd just like to add my personal testimony that, like most people who left comments here, the book was helpful enough but the CD was VERY helpful in putting me to sleep and helping the quality of my sleep. I have wicked bad insomnia (which is made worse by being bi-polar and having ADHD) and have tried pretty much every sleep pill you can name (Am...
 

No More Sleepless Nights
by Peter Hauri, Shirley Linde
Amazon Price: $11.53
Customer Review: I liked this book. It helped me sleep better. The logs were easy to do, made sense, condensed information for me to get a feel for what was going on sleeping and waking. I made them into an Excel spreadsheet.
His reassurances helped me to relax- I am in control, I can function for awhile with less sleep, when I become deprived a certain amoun...
 

Say Good Night to Insomnia
by Gregg D. Jacobs
Amazon Price: $10.88
Customer Review: I felt this book was condescending. I didn't find the logs helpful in this format. The tone was very pompous and self congratulatory. I had better results using the book "No More Sleepless Night."
 

Sound Sleep, Sound Mind: 7 Keys to Sleeping Through the Night
by Barry Krakow
Amazon Price: $16.47
Customer Review: Inadequate sleep is a poorly understood and often underestimated medical problem. This book helps us all analyze unhealthy sleep patterns and identify ways to correct them. I found the content useful for both health professionals and the general public. I highly recommend it to persons with sleep problems and those trying to help them.
 

Wide Awake: A Memoir of Insomnia
by Patricia Morrisroe
Amazon Price: $16.50
Customer Review: Wide Awake: A Memoir of Insomnia by Patricia Morrisroe. I bought this for my grandaughter.She said it is really were good and helpful.
 

A 'Night Owl' With Insomnia - New York Times (blog)
20 Aug 2010 at 8:11am

New York Times (blog)
A 'Night Owl' With Insomnia
New York Times (blog)
Another very effective option is bright light therapy, which is given in the morning for delayed sleep phase disorder. This requires the patient to sit in ...
A 'Night Owl' With InsomniaSarasota Herald-Tribune

all 5 news articles ...
 
Circadian Rhythms: Their Role And Dysfunction In Affective Disorder - Medical...
31 Aug 2010 at 6:16am

Circadian Rhythms: Their Role And Dysfunction In Affective Disorder
Medical News Today (press release)
Chronotherapeutic elements include light therapy, dark therapy or blue-blocking sunglasses, wake therapy (total or partial sleep deprivation in the second ...

and more »
 
Lack of sleep linked to mental illness in young - Sydney Morning Herald
31 Aug 2010 at 6:34pm

Lack of sleep linked to mental illness in young
Sydney Morning Herald
Patients are treated with light therapy in the mornings as well as hormones such as melatonin to help them sleep earlier.

and more »
 
Write out your worry list at bedtime to cure insomnia - CTV.ca
8 Aug 2010 at 6:24am

Write out your worry list at bedtime to cure insomnia
CTV.ca
... Collop recommends exposing yourself to a bright light. If sunlight isn't available, she says light therapy products can be effective too.

and more »
 

The information contained here should NOT be used as a substitute for the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other health care provider. The information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only and in no way should be considered as an offering of medical advice.