Can light therapy help patients with anxiety disorders?
Patients with anxiety disorders are often interested in new ways to treat their anxiety. A recent study titled “Does bright light have an anxiolytic effect? - an open trial,” published in the BMC Psychiatry 2007, 7:62, examines this important issue. Seventy-nine subjects with baseline anxiety were exposed to bright lights (3000 lux) for three hours per day on three consecutive days. Their anxiety levels before and after treatment were measured. There was no control group. The results were interesting: “A significant anxiolytic effect of bright light was found for the mean data, as well as for each of the three days.” The lack of a control group limits the strength of conclusions drawn from this study, however patients with anxiety disorders may want to consider bright light treatment in addition to their standard anxiety treatments.
The Bottom Line: This study suggests that bright light treatment may be helpful in patients with anxiety disorders.
Suggested Reading:
- Overcoming Anxiety: From Short-Time Fixes to Long-Term Recovery (Paperback) by Reneau Peuifov
- The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, Fourth Edition (Paperback) by Edmund J. Bourne
- Overcoming Anxiety for Dummies (Paperback) by Laura L. Smith (Author), Charles H. Elliott (Author)
Reference:Original Article
Sources: See Blog Post, See Treatment: Light Therapy, See Psychiatric Disroders: Anxiety Disorders
