Bright Light: A Novel Treatment for Anxiety
Completed · Phase 1 · Has a placebo group
Conditions studied: Anxiety, Depression, Sleep
In brief
The primary aim of this research was to examine the influence of bright light on anxiety in high-anxious young adults. In an acute exposure study, participants were randomly assigned to 45 min of either (1) bright light (3,000 lux) or (2) a placebo inactivated negative ion generator. Treatments were initiated ≤1 hr after awakening. At 10 min before and 30 min after the treatments, state anxiety, mood, and blood pressure were assessed. Following the acute exposure study, participants performed a 5-week study. Following a a 1-week baseline, participants were randomly assigned to four weeks of daily exposure to either (1) bright light (45 min/day; 3,000 lux) or (2) placebo inactivated negative ion generator, which were initiated ≤1 hr after awakening. Before and after the experiment, clinical ratings were conducted with the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Hamilton Depression Scale, and the Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI). Following baseline, and following each week of treatment, blood pressure, as well as questionnaires for state anxiety, depression, mood, sleep, and side effects were assessed.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT01064700
- Run by
- University of South Carolina
- People needed
- 33
- Starts
- 2006-10-01
- Expected to finish
- 2007-12-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2021-04-28
Who can join
Age: 18 and older, up to 35. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Having a level of trait anxiety [Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y1)]{23642} that was ≥ the 75th percentile for their age (i.e., ≥ 46 and ≥ 44 for women and men, respectively)
You may not qualify if…
- Current treatment for anxiety or depression;
- History of bipolar disorder, mania, or psychotic disorders;
- History of winter depression, which might bias towards positive response to light;
- Hypertension;
- Ophthalmic abnormalities; and
- Usual exposure to high levels of light such that the intervention would add little to usual exposure.
Where it is running
- Chronobiology Lab, University of South Carolina — Columbia, South Carolina, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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