Observations placeholder
Morning sunlight and manic depression
Identifier
006229
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
J Affect Disord. 2001 Feb;62(3):221-3. Morning sunlight reduces length of hospitalization in bipolar depression. Benedetti F, Colombo C, Barbini B, Campori E, Smeraldi E. Istituto Scientifico Ospedale San Raffaele, Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, University of Milan, School of Medicine, Via Prinetti 29, 20127 Milan, Italy. benedetti.francesco@hsr.it
BACKGROUND: Bright artificial light improves non-seasonal depression. Preliminary observations suggest that sunlight could share this effect.
METHODS: Length of hospitalization was recorded for a sample of 415 unipolar and 187 bipolar depressed inpatients, assigned to rooms with eastern (E) or western (W) windows.
RESULTS: Bipolar inpatients in E rooms (exposed to direct sunlight in the morning) had a mean 3.67-day shorter hospital stay than patients in W rooms. No effect was found in unipolar inpatients.
CONCLUSIONS: Natural sunlight can be an underestimated and uncontrolled light therapy for bipolar depression.
LIMITATIONS: This is a naturalistic retrospective observation, which needs to be confirmed by prospective studies.
PMID: 11223110