If you are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (“SAD”) you probably know that a dose of light is helpful. It is, after all, logical. We understand what is needed well enough, now, that we have developed an industry standard for the amount of light and the time of the application.

Industry? Yes, there is an industry group (The Circadian Lighting Association at www.claorg.org) made up of companies which are involved with the manufacture of lighting implements for the mitigation of SAD. The Association was formed in 1993, so it has been among us for some time.

And what of the industry standard? The industry believes that to control SAD one should sit in front of a 10,000 lux lamp for 30 minutes daily.

However, each of us is a little different, and you may need a little less than 30 minutes or you may need more, up to an hour.

How do you know? By how you feel. We have not developed a formula for who should get how much, in the way antibiotics are given by weight. But when you get the timing right, you’ll know.