Tanning booths no cure for winter blues

January 22, 2009 Seasonal affective disorder or the more common 'winter blues' is often treated with light therapy. Some isolated reports have linked tanning to improvements in mood.

But researchers say the fact is that real light therapy works through the eyes, not the skin and uses a completely different type of light.

That's the finding of researchers at the center for light treatment and biological rhythms at New York Presbyterian Hospital. They add even if artificial tanning did turn out to improve mood the increased risks of skin cancer would far outweigh the benefits.