One thing we tend to mention to most of our patients is the importance of getting outside. We know not everyone is up for being outdoors every day. Between physical deconditioning, allergies, and daily commitments it is hard to make sure you get some sun and exercise daily. But we can't emphasize this lifestyle change enough. You need a bit of sunlight and physical activity to counteract the physical and mental stress of New York.
Recently there has been a bit of buzz about red light therapy, specifically the effects of blue or "display" light on the brain and body. There is ever increasing evidence to suggest that constant exposure to our computer screens and phones is causing us real harm. From text neck (Forward Head Posture) to insomnia and disrupted sleep patterns, there is some real need for a treatment to counteract this problem. Changing our personal habits aside, there are some simple options in the fight against this issue.
We're finally seeing phone manufacturers include stock apps for managing the light output from your devices. Desktop plugins like F.lux have been around for years, but now features like "night mode" are standard on phones. We feel that this is the least that can be done to fight what we like to refer to as Blue Light Fatigue. We recently installed a new red light, near-infrared therapy panel in our office.
