Some light therapy lamp news has made a big splash in the media world recently. Scientists have found that bright light therapy may significantly improve sexual satisfaction and libido in men after only 2 weeks of treatment. This made headlines in publications such as Men’s Health, LA Times, Men’s Fitness, WedMD and the Chicago Tribune to name only a few. Here is all you need to know about this surprising light therapy benefit.
The study, presented this year by Italian researchers from the University of Siena, had half of the participants spend 30 minutes in the morning sitting about 3 feet from a 10,000 lux light therapy lamp (much like this HappyLight® model). The other half of the men, the placebo or control group, used a light box emitting 100 lux.
Results showed that daily exposure to the light box upon waking significantly increased blood testosterone levels. In fact, they found that testosterone levels increased more than 50 percent in men exposed to just two weeks of daily doses of bright light therapy. These men also saw their sexual satisfaction levels more than triple!
“Before treatment, both groups averaged a sexual satisfaction score of around 2 out of 10, but after treatment, the group exposed to the bright light was scoring sexual satisfaction scores of around 6.3, a more than threefold increase on the scale we used. In contrast, the control group only showed an average score of around 2.7 after treatment,” said lead researcher Dr. Fagiolini in a press release.
“The increased levels of testosterone explain the greater reported sexual satisfaction,” he adds. “In the Northern hemisphere, the body’s testosterone production naturally declines from November through April and then rises steadily through the spring and summer, with a peak in October.”
Dr. Faglioni saw a direct correlation between sunlight exposure and birth rates, which is what inspired him to more closely examine the relationship between light and libido. “You see the effect of this in reproductive rates, with the month of June showing the highest rate of conception. The use of the light box really mimics what nature does. ”
If you think you or someone you love has lowered libido, be sure to talk to your doctor about what might be causing your sex drive to decrease. There are many potential reasons libido can decrease in addition to less exposure to sunlight.
