How to Make a Light Box for Therapy

Light boxes have become popular as a form of treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a depression-like disorder that impacts people in areas that experience colder, darker periods of winter. Exposure to light for thirty minutes a day has shown to help combat the feelings of sluggishness and fatigue. Commercial light boxes are available for purchase but prices can be in the hundreds of dollars. Light boxes may also be made at home for a fraction of the cost; provided that they are safe, they may help to combat the symptoms of SAD.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden box with lid
• Ten compact fluorescent light bulbs
• Wired light bulb holders
• Cable screw
• Wire stripper
• Electrical plug
• White primer
• Hand saw
• Pencil
• Heavy duty extension cord or plug with wire
• Electrical tape
• Glue (optional)

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Instructions

• 1

  Paint the inside of the wooden box with white primer and allow to dry. Measure the diameter of the light bulb holders, using one as a guide to trace a circle that will be cut from the back of the box. Trace ten evenly spaced circles as guides for cutting out so the bulbs and holders can be stuck through. Avoid making the holes too big or the bulbs may slip out.

• 2

  Using a handsaw, cut each circle out of the back of the box. Place the light bulb holders through the holes and screw in the light bulbs. Affix with electrical tape from the back if necessary to prevent the lights from slipping through.

• 3

  Cut the plug from each bulb holder about 4-5 inches from the back of the unit. Strip the wires so that the insulation is exposed and make note of the placement of each color of wire. Bind the cords of each bulb holder two at a time with a cable screw, eventually wiring all of them together into one large cord.

• 4

  Strip the wires on a heavy-duty plug, and bind the matching sets of wires using cable screws. Ensure that no wiring sticks out of the screw, and that none of the leads are touching each other, which may cause a short.

• 5

  Drill a small hole in the lid of the box for the plug to fit through. Fish the plug through the hole and place the lid of the box on the back, over the wiring. Secure with tape or glue.