A Bright Approach to SAD

A study in the American Journal of Psychiatry evaluated two “novel nonpharmaceutical” treatments for seasonal affective disorder (SAD): naturalistic dawn simulation and high-density negative air ionization. Patients were 77 women and 22 men with winter seasonal MDD (N=94) and bipolar II disorder (N=5). Posttreatment improvement results were 49.5% for dawn simulation (light in the pattern of May 5 at 45º north latitude), and 47.9% for high-density negative ions (for 93 minutes), leading the authors to conclude that these treatments are viable alternatives to bright light treatment or medication. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/12/2126

-LS