Bright light augments antidepressant effects of medication and wake therapy

Bright light therapy led to a 27% improvement in depression symptoms within 1 week for those receiving treatment.

• Inpatients have shown that bright light therapy may sustain the antidepressant effects of sleep deprivation.
• An outpatient trial involved subjects with Major Depressive Disorders who were on concurrent antidepressant medication.
• Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either bright white light or dim red light as a placebo.
• The group receiving bright light showed significant improvement on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale compared to the placebo group.
• One subject in the placebo group showed improvement, but overall, the placebo did not lead to significant changes.

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