If you sit in front of a bright light for 30 minutes, the depression cure rate rises to 40%.
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The cure rate of depression patients treated with bright light therapy (BLT) was found to be up to 40%. [사진= 게티이미지뱅크]As winter approaches and the days get shorter, alertness to depression is growing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five American adults is diagnosed with depression.
The most common way to treat depression is to prescribe antidepressants. However, these drugs come with side effects, including skin problems and “emotional numbness.” Emotional numbing means that the drug numbs all senses, including joy.
But now research has come out that suggests a solution to treating depression without drugs. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Psychiatry), the cure rate for depression patients treated with bright light therapy (BLT) was up to 40%.
Researchers from the Federal Universities of Sinop Mato Grosso and Belém Para, Brazil, instructed 858 people diagnosed with depressive disorder to sit in front of a box of fluorescent lights that produced 10,000 lux of bright white light for at least 30 minutes every day.
The results of the study showed that the cure rate of patients who received BLT treatment was 40%, which was significantly higher than the 23% cure rate of the control group that only received antidepressants. “These results suggest that bright light therapy is an effective adjunctive treatment for non-seasonal depressive disorder, and show that adding bright light therapy may improve response time to initial treatment,” the researchers said.
The researchers added, “BLT has the potential to be an accessible and cost-effective supplement or replacement for antidepressants, providing a ray of hope for people suffering from severe depression.” Exposure to external light generally has no costs or limitations, so it can be an effective adjunctive treatment for non-seasonal depressive disorder.
According to a study cited by Forbes, when a person is exposed to bright light, the light enters the retina and activates nerve cells known as retinal ganglion cells. These neurons transmit information between the retina and the brain and play a direct role in regulating mood.
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