Wake and light therapy for moderate‐to‐severe depression – a randomized controlled trial

Patients in the wake therapy group experienced a significant decrease in depressive symptoms in week one, scoring 17.39 compared to 20.19 in the standard treatment group (P = 0.04).

• No statistically significant differences in depressive symptoms were observed between the groups from weeks two to nine.
• By week nine, the wake therapy group had a significantly larger increase in general self-efficacy (P = 0.001).
• Waking up during nights was reported less frequently in the wake therapy group, with an average of 1.9 times compared to 3.2 times in the standard treatment group (P = 0.0008).
• During most weeks, fewer patients in the wake therapy group took daytime naps, and when they did, the naps were shorter (66 minutes vs. 117 minutes in week three, P = 0.02).
• The initial antidepressant effect could not be maintained over the nine-week study period.

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