Insomnia is a catch-all term that can and does cover a lot of sleep-related problems. Insomnia can mean that a person has trouble

falling asleep. or that he or she wakes in the middle of the night or that he or she wakes too early in the morning. All of these sleep disorders are roughly grouped under the blanket term "insomnia."

Researchers have discovered that bright light therapy can help alleviate two of the three conditions of insomnia -- difficulty in falling asleep, and waking too early in the morning. Research has proven that all of us human beings come with an internal clock, and that our internal clocks can be reset with the use of bright light therapy.

Basically, the body operates on a natural chemically induced time schedule. When we wake up in the morning, our bodies begin to release chemicals that make us become alert, awake, and ready for the day. All systems are "go," so to speak. Then in the late evenings, our bodies produce other chemicals that cause us to become ready for sleep, and some systems begin to shut down so that we will sleep. In a sense, the "off switch" is flipped.

When we have difficulty in falling asleep, or when we wake too early, it has been proven that bright light therapy can readjust our internal clock. In the case of not falling asleep quickly, bright light therapy is used in the morning, and in the case of waking too early, bright light therapy is used in the late evening. Our internal clocks can be reset. The natural chemically induced time schedule can be altered with light.

Bright light therapy is not a widely used, or even widely accepted, method for helping people overcome some forms of insomnia. But it is becoming a more and more accepted method of treatment.