As humans spend more and more time indoors, we are losing access to the benefits of the natural sun. Recognition of seasonal affective disorder has grown accordingly. While the actual incidence of this condition is low (about 5% — or 10 million Americans or so), it has led to increased awareness of the sun's effect on serotonin production in the brain — and its resulting effect on the human body.
As a result, light therapy lamps are becoming increasingly popular. I bought one a while ago. It's large, unwieldy, and emits a bright light like a tanning lamp. These products rely on the visible light spectrum, in an attempt to mimic the effect of the sun for those of us who spend our waking hours in front of the computer more times than we care to mention.
Recently, the use of the “near infrared” (NIR) sector of the light spectrum as a potential alternative to visible light has become increasingly popular. As the name suggests, the part lies between infrared and visible light, at around 600 and 1000 nanometers. According to the National Institutes of Health, “Low-level light therapy in the far-red (FR) to near-infrared (NIR) spectrum range, collectively called photobiomodulation (PBM), has gained global interest in recent years as a therapeutic “. “A new tool for experimental therapeutic applications in a variety of medical conditions.”
This weekend at MWC, a Dutch company (appropriately, given the lack of sunlight during winters in the Netherlands) called Seaborough, showed off small devices designed to replace large SAD lamps. One is located next to the computer and the other clips are shown above, and looks a lot like an external webcam. Both are connected to a USB port for power.
Unfortunately, the hardware is a proof of concept. The company told me it is currently looking for partnerships to license the technology. I took the main image with an iPhone, which is capable of capturing NIR, which is why you see that reddish-purple glow. You can also see the glow coming from the surrounding edges. Ideally, Seaborough would eventually like to integrate it into the laptops themselves, though third-party accessories seem more likely. Heck, why not integrate it into an actual webcam?
As someone who has struggled with a fair amount of depression over the past few years, I would definitely be willing to check this out. It's really hard to review these things anecdotally, of course, as you need to take into account the potential placebo effect. However, I will say that some research has been done on this topic. Take this, from research published a decade ago, “Results showed that PBM treatment alone at 6.5 J·cm−2 had consistent positive benefits on well-being and health, specifically improved mood, reduced sleepiness, reduced IFN-γ, and decreased heart rate.” The heart at rest.
The research indicates that the effect only occurred in the winter months. It also had no measurable effect on the participants' circadian rhythm. However, it's probably still safe to suggest that the jury is still out on a lot of these things.
