Depression: Is light therapy and medication the winning duo?
updated the 13 December 2015 à 11:16The efficiency of light to treat depression is now well established. Today, new research highlight the virtues of light therapy in other forms of depression.
At the rate of 30 minutes every morning, light therapy is now recognized as the standard treatment to cure the blues. Indeed, a strong enough light souce and precise wave lengths can help to regulate standby and sleep cycles and boost production of certain neurotransmitters that positively impact our mood. A scientific team investigated whether it could also be effective in other forms of depression.
LIGHT THERAPY: HELPS IN SEVERE DEPRESSION
A study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry*, studied the effects of different treatments in severe non-seasonal depression. 122 patients were divided into four groups and followed different treatments for 8 weeks. The first group had only light therapy, the second took a stamp antidepressant (fluoxetine, better known under the name of Prozac (r)), the third had the right to an antidepressant stamp and sessions of light therapy while the latter received only placebos. Conclusion: the combination of antidepressant therapy + and the light therapy alone gave better results than placebo. While further research is needed, the authors still managed to prove that light therapy, which is a 100% natural treatment, probably had its place in the treatment of moderate to severe depression.
Source: Efficacy of Bright Light Treatment, Fluoxetine, and the Combination in Patients With Major Depressive nonseasonal Disorde, December 2015
Maureen Diament
