According to a survey, 5% of people in the United States suffer a type of depression called seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the gloomy days of fall and winter.
CNN reports light therapy could help these sad people find brighter days. A new study has proven that sitting in front of a special light box at home for thirty minutes every morning could not only treat SAD, but depression in general --- which plagues 7% of American adults every year.
For the study, University of British Columbia Professor of Psychiatry, Raymond W. Lam and his team looked at 122 adults with depression: 32 patients were given light therapy, 29 were given both light therapy and Prozac, 31 patients only took Prozac, while 30 participants didn't receive any therapy.
After eight weeks, 44% of the 32 patients who received light therapy and 59% of the 29 patients who had both light therapy and Prozac were all cured from depression. The treatment involving light therapy showed higher remission as compared to 19% of the 31 patients who only had Prozac and 30% of 30 patients who didn't receive any medication at all.
"I think this opens up another treatment option for people with non-seasonal depression and we need more treatment options because not everybody gets better with the standard treatment options," said Dr. Lam, the study's lead author.
According to Dr. Lam, the special light box used for therapy emitted 10,000 lux, which is equivalent to the amount of sunlight a person is exposed to at around 7 AM during summer.
While light therapy has already been considered as an add-on to depression treatments, Dr. Lam suggests "clinicians should be confident in thinking this is an option."
The study entitled Efficacy of Bright Light Treatment, Fluoxetine, and the Combination in Patients With Nonseasonal Major Depressive Disorder was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry in November.
