Light to the brain relieves winter blues

Light to the brain relieves winter blues

With the size and appearance of a music player - this is a radical way of treating a serious medical condition - the winter blues. Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a form of depression common in the winter months when less daylight can take its toll. But its inventors say this small contraption ensures a sufferer gets a shot of bright light right where they need it - between the ears. Inventor of the Valkee light, Juuso Nissila, has studied the impact of light on animals and, perhaps unsurprisingly, comes from northern Finland. (SOUNDBITE)(Finnish) JUUSO NISSILA, VALKEE SAYING: "When light is delivered into the brain directly, like via ear canal, the light releases neurotransmitters in our brains. These same neurotransmitters [like serotonin, melatonin and dopamine] are used to treat depression and neurological diseases." Trials conducted by researchers from the University of Oulu show 90 percent of the severe SAD sufferers they tested, benefited from just a few minutes of light therapy. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MARKKU TIMONEN SAYING: "We tried to find out what is the enough amount of light to alleviate the symptoms of winter blues and to our surprise even the lowest level, the lowest amount of light was enough..." As many as 20 percent of central Europeans suffer from SAD. In northern Finland the problem is particularly severe with fewer than four hours of daylight during the depths of winter - but even here the treatment was not immediately accepted. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MARKKU TIMONEN SAYING: "To be honest, at the beginning, people were laughing at us because they thought that it couldn't help anyone to put light into the dark ears but we have been saying that the ears are not the idea but the idea is the ear canals through which we can target the bright light." They are not laughing now - Markku Timonen says, they've seen the light. Stuart McDill,


http://uk.reuters.com/video/2011/11/20/light-to-the-brain-relieves-winter-blues?&videoChannel=4000&videoId=225488776