For a disorder that’s one of the leading causes of disability across the globe, depression has surprisingly few lasting treatments. Light therapy has been found to be effective for people dealing with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), but for "regular" (non-seasonal) depression the results have been more mixed. But a new randomized clinical trial suggests that fluorescent light may also work for major depressive disorder – in fact, it may even be better than medication when it comes to remission from one's symptoms. The research, especially if they're replicated in the future, will certainly give therapists and the rest of us some food for thought.
The team randomly assigned 122 people with major depression to one of several treatment groups. One received fluorescent light therapy from a basic light box for 30 minutes per day right after they woke up, along with a placebo pill. Another took the SSRI medication fluoxetine (Prozac) and were exposed to a placebo device – a negative ion generator (which was deactivated, so it only produced a hum, but no ions). Another group received both active treatments together, and a control group received both placebo treatments.
At the end of the study period, 59% of the people who had both active treatments – light therapy and medication together – achieved remission from their depression. And light therapy alone wasn’t too far behind: about 44% of the participants who’d received active light therapy (along with the placebo pill) experienced remission. In contrast, only 19% of those taking the antidepressant and receiving the placebo light therapy achieved remission. And 30% of people receiving both placebos did.
When it came to how many people experienced a reduction in their symptoms by 50%, a similar breakdown was observed. About 76% of the people who received both light therapy and antidepressant had this level of symptom reduction. For those who received only light therapy, about half of this group saw reduction in their symptoms, and for those who took the antidepressant alone, 29% did. For those getting the placebo pill and placebo light therapy, 33% saw the same level of reduction in their symptoms.
This isn’t the first study to suggest that medication isn’t any better than placebo -- but it is the first to suggest that light therapy may be better than either one for treating major depression.
"These results are very exciting because light therapy is inexpensive, easy to access and use, and comes with few side effects," said study author Raymond Lam in a release. "Patients can easily use light therapy along with other treatments such as antidepressants and psychotherapy."
Why would light therapy work for depression? There are a couple of theories: One is that light resets a dysregulated biological clock. The other is that light regulates neurotransmitter function, similar to what antidepressants themselves do in the brain. Whatever the mechanism/s, light therapy is a strategy that warrants some further investigation.
"I recommend Bright Light Therapy for all my patients who struggle with a mood disorder," says psychologist Deborah Serani, author of Living with Depression. "For some, it is helpful long term, for others it isn’t." She adds that the current study only ran for eight weeks, which isn't enough to see how light therapy would fare over time. "With research like this, I think it’s vital to talk about the intervention only being 8 weeks. That’s a very short time of intervention for major depression in moderate forms. So, this is short term effect, not a long term one."
The researchers also say that one should only experiment with with light therapy under a doctor’s supervision. But it's certain to be a lot cheaper than other treatments out there, and likely a lot safer and more effective.
"More and more people are seeking help because there is less stigma about having depression," said Lam. "It's important to find new treatments because our current therapies don't work for everyone. Our findings should help to improve the lives of people with depression."
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