A colorful light box is giving happiness the green light. A Manitoba physicist has been marketing a green hued light box since the mid-1990s. In today’s a Winnipeg Free Press Murray Waldman says his green gleaming light box for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) also helps sleep and mood disorders. This light box’s green gleam is from the phosphor used in the fluorescent bulb.

Waldman says the advantage of his green light box is that green light is easier on the eyes and more practical for a business setting that does not want bright light. His light box offers the same affects as the bright white-light box but with a much softer light.

Presently, bright white-light therapy is the gold standard treatment for SAD. My own light box is on as I write this. An advantage of the standard light box is that it is much cheaper than the green light box. The UAF Health Center says you can buy a light box for around $200 in Fairbanks or online. Waldman’s green light boxes are about $750, but his company Sunnex Biotechnologies will rent them.

For now, I will be sticking with my standard light box, what about you?