The History of Light Therapy
The Sunnex Lo-LIGHT Therapy Lamp

Until recently, it was believed that humans do not respond to seasonal changes in day-length.  

However, in 1980, Dr. A. J. Lewy and co-workers at the National Institutes of Mental Health
(NIMH) demonstrated that high-intensity light affects the natural release of melatonin by the
pineal gland in the brain in people. This finding determined that human physiology is
influenced by light.

In 1981, an engineer named Howard Kern mentioned to Dr. Lewy that he suffered depression
between fall and spring, and Dr. Lewy decided to treat Mr. Kern's depression by extending his
day length to approximate summer. Using a bright light (2000 lux), in an attempt to duplicate
the effects of sunlight, Dr. Lewy exposed Mr. Kern to two extra hours of light in the morning and
in the evening.  

The treatment worked. Within a short period the patient's depression lifted, and the practice of
"light therapy" or phototherapy for the treatment of a seasonal pattern depression was born. Dr.
Lewy termed this seasonal depression Seasonal Affective Disorder, and coined the acronym
SAD, commonly used to this day.   Light therapy has since become the American Psychiatric
Association's recommended treatment of choice for seasonal pattern depression (SAD).   

In 1988, Sunnex Biotechnologies developed a low-intensity light therapy technology, the
Lo-LIGHT lamp, to provide the same benefits as bright light without the discomfort, headaches
and eyestrain many people experience from bright light therapy.   In 1998, Dr. A. J. Lewy
performed trials on the Sunnex Lo-LIGHT, and found that the Lo-LIGHT was as effective as
bright light at shifting circadian rhythms, a key indicator of effective light therapy for SAD. Dr.
Lewy presented the Sunnex Lo-LIGHT technology at conferences of the Society for Light
Treatment and Biological Rhythms and of Sleep Research.   

Other independent studies have since validated that the Sunnex Lo-LIGHT is as effective as
bright light, including a study on major depression published in 2003 in the Journal of Clinical
Psychiatry.  The safe and comfortable Sunnex Lo-LIGHT lamp is now the highest quality light
therapy product on the market. Hundreds of customers have enjoyed the safety and comfort of
Sunnex's proven low-intensity light therapy.  

If you would like additional information regarding this product, please contact us and we will
get back with you as soon as the product becomes available or we will refer you to a
distributor.  Thank you.
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