Bright light is said to lift your mood, boost alertness and help you feel more energised. Using a light box every day over the darker days of autumn and winter helps with the ‘winter blues’ and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) symptoms, such as tiredness, over-eating and a lack of motivation.
Mairead Owens, Dublin City Librarian, said: “The light boxes are being provided as part of the Healthy Ireland at your Library programme. This programme sees a collection of services and programmes designed to support health and wellbeing made available in all its libraries.”
Vitamin L is effective in restoring concentration and providing a mental boost. People should notice positive benefits after using it for three or four days in a row.
Vitamin L lamps are being introduced to all Dublin City Libraries, for use in the libraries only and may not be borrowed.
It’s best to tackle the winter blues and SAD as soon as possible and people should look out for early signs, and if they start to feel lethargic, anxious or irritable, should start using Vitamin L.
As spring comes around, people start to cut back on their light therapy but if they notice the symptoms returning, they can simply use the Vitamin L lamp again for a few days.
For comfortable use, it’s recommended to position the Vitamin L lamp at arm’s length and start with 30 minutes a day. Some people will find this is enough for effective SAD treatment. If they need to, they can increase exposure each day until they find a treatment time that works for them.
