Could Scandinavian-style ?light caf�s? help combat the winter blues? With clocks going back (at least for now) and nights drawing in, some specialists are arguing that coffee bars, which provide high-strength lighting along with their lattes, might help the one in five people who suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression triggered by lack of light in winter.
Light caf�s have taken off in Sweden, which has nearly a million SAD sufferers and where winter gloom is a far greater problem than in the UK. Stockholm, for example, gets only five hours of daylight in the winter months. But the city?s commuters can stop off in caf�s, such as the Iglo, and sit bathed in UV-free lighting to the strength of 3,000 lux (the technical measure of brightness).
This intense light, which compares with the 200-500 lux emitted by domestic or office lighting, simulates natural light and is thought to correct the hormone imbalance that causes SAD, although its effectiveness has not been conclusively proved.
Dr Victoria Revell, an expert in chronobiology (the study of circadian rhythms) at the University of Surrey, says that the caf�s would benefit British SAD sufferers.
?They are beneficial both physiologically and socially. Using light therapy in this way can help our sleep patterns, energy levels and performance.?
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