(From left) Dr. Shirley LI, Professor Yun Kwok WING and Dr. Joey Wing Yan CHAN.

Abstract

About 1 in 10 adults in Hong Kong suffer from depressive symptoms. Earlier studies showed that around 20% of patients are as ‘night owls’ who are late to bed and late to rise. They are at greater risk of poor clinical outcomes with more sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms, along with higher suicidality.

The Department of Psychiatry of CU Medicine and the Department of Psychology of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have conducted the world's first randomised control trial of adjunctive bright light therapy for “night owls” with depression. Results showed bright light therapy doubles the probability of achieving remission, and the cumulative remission rate of depression reaches around 70%. This study shows that using properly timed bright light as a non-pharmacological intervention is important in the treatment of depression. The results were published in the international medical journal Psychological Medicine.
 

Details: https://bit.ly/3qImA0G