If you suffer from jet lag and or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), you will be pleased to know that there is a very simple effective way to treat these conditions. You do not have to go on a special anti jet lag diet before you take your next long haul flight. Neither do you have to take melatonin. If you suffer from SAD , you will be able to brighten your days with a sad light box or lamp.

It is interesting to note that when there is snow on the ground, there is a fall in the number of peple suffering from SAD- this is because there is so much light reflected from the snow, it seems almost like a summer's day ! The SAD phenomenon almost always occurs in the days leading up to winter as there is less and less light and sufferers will miss the light and go into a sort of depression.

Genetics or age could well be a factor in whether a person is likely to suffer from SAD although researchers are not at all sure about this. Sufferers are recommended to start the light therapy as soon as the first symptoms appear (usually in the fall). It has been established that the time of day you have the therapy is not a factor in the effectiveness of this cure.

Sunlight and natural light are essential to our natural biological rhythms. Once there is a change in these rhythms, then our bodies have difficulty in adjusting. Shorter days and long haul flights upset our natural clocks. Table-lamps are ideal at twilight when the light begins to fade.

Natural light therapy is usually applied by using specially made lamps which will give lots of natural light (without harmful UVA rays!). Normally thirty minutes a day will be more than enough and the treatment can be continued until spring arrives and the days start to lengthen.

Jet lag is the curse of modern jet travel, resulting in loss of working efficiency and holiday enjoyment, often for days after arrival. It is a real physical phenomenon that afflicts you any time you quickly cross more than two or three time zones. Jet lag is very real and can have a major (negative) impact on your business judgment and vacation enjoyment, as well as making the 'back home blues' even worse upon your return.

When travelling across a number of time zones, the body clock will be out of sync with the destination time, as it experiences daylight and darkness contrary to the rhythms to which it has grown accustomed. In jet lag, the body's natural pattern is upset, as the rhythms that dictate times for eating, sleeping, hormone levels and the body temperature rhythm no longer correspond to the norm.

The best way to recover from jet lag and a SAD, is to invest in a sad light box or table lamp. No faddy anti-jet lag diets which you have to start way before the journey and continue afterwards. Some people take sleeing pills which can lead to fatal blood clots. Melatonin has been known to be effective. But the best, most natural way is the sad table lamp.