When purchasing a light therapy box for the treatment of seasonal affective disorder, what should I be looking

for?

I found from my research into this issue that light did not have to be full-spectrum, just bright. If anything, blue light of I think it is 440 nanometers would be best, but I dunno if that study was replicated. blue LED xmas lights just happen to be the right wavelength, so you could make your own lightbox from a couple strands for $10 or so. google it to be sure that is the latest thinking, but that is what my brother did. I think I read this on bipolarworld.net on ask the doctor (he's a bipolar doc). You don't need the LED's to be as bright because the light is the perfect wavelength. PS aquarium shops used to sell bulbs at about this wavelength called actinic bulbs, to supplement metal halide. So this other person is probably talking about a newer version of this type of thing. But costly.

Otherwise, make sure the light is really bright. sit at a desk with a book you would read, then measure how far away a tilted light would be. then you need a light that is 10,000 lux at that disatnce. I used a sunray at a mental hospital. It was pretty good. Right now, i have a 400W metal halide light (like people use to grow orchids or pot) and that hangs over my head while I use my sewing machine. So then it is really bright everywhere, and I can do hobbies & not just read.

Get your light online. it is much cheaper than at a medical supply store. it will be about $300. make sure there is a UV filter, or you could get eye damage.

Therapy boxes come in many styles, but your best bet is one with a "dawn" wake-up timer on it also to gently start an artificial dawn for you to wake you up.

Get one that has a "white" or full spectrum of light. These types of bulbs are easily found in aquarium stores. You can actually make your own therapy box with an aquarium hood, 2 coral reef lamps, and a stand or pole.

Be sure to use coral reef aquarium lamps if you build your own, most natural light you will find. You can by a timer seperately if the "dawn" wake up affect sounds appealing to you.

15 min sun a day and vitamin D supplements.