Jun 16 2010
New research study indicates that bright light therapy is effective for treating sleep disturbances in combat soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The abstract of this study will be presented at the SLEEP 2010 meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Texas.
The results from the bright light therapy study show significantly greater improvements when compared to placebo. The therapy also delivered moderate improvements in the symptoms of PTSD and depression.
The study was conducted on 16 soldiers who had returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom with combat-related PTSD. The coordinator of the study, Shannon Cornelius commented that the results demonstrated that the therapy had considerable effects on disruptive nocturnal behaviors related to combat PTSD. Bright light therapy is a simple treatment and can be self-administered. Also, it is an inexpensive treatment that has fewer side effects. Disturbed sleep interacts with anxiety and depression in a vicious cycle, he said.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has reported that 70%-90% of PTSD patients are afflicted with subjective sleep disturbance. Repeated nightmares about any traumatic event is one of the most enduring and problematic symptoms of PTSD. Under Bright light therapy, patient’s eyes are exposed to safe but intense light for a specific time period.