August 29, 2006
The Cellphone That Wont Make You SAD
A patent has been requested for a mobile phone which would include light panels for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD. Cellular News reports.
"Most SAD sufferers experience normal mental health throughout most of the year, but experience depressive symptoms in the winter. Seasonal mood variations are believed to be related mostly to daylight, not temperature. For this reason, SAD is prevalent even in mid-latitude places with mild winters, such as Seattle.
The patent, US 2006/0183516 calls for a phone to be fitted with a number of light panels on the face of the phone which would deliver "light therapy" to the users face when the phone is in use.
SAD is often treated by the use of "light boxes" which use a bright light at a dose of 10,000 lux for 30-60 minutes daily. The patent states that as sitting in front of a light box is not always convenient, the addition of a lower dosage "light therapy" inside the mobile phone could augment the treatment."
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