Eastman's research shows that night workers benefit from protecting themselves from exposure to conflicting cues from sunlight by wearing dark goggles on their way home from work. They also should sleep at consistent times after the night shift, she said, and light-proof their bedrooms for day sleep. Light may produce antidepressant benefits within 1 week, in contrast to psychopharmacological treatments, which typically take several weeks, said Daniel Kripke, MD, director of the Circadian Pacemaker Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego. These results, he said, are comparable with those obtained in major trials of antidepressant medications. Light and medications appear to work best in combination, he said, suggesting it would be advantageous to offer depressed patients speedy relief with light therapy while also starting them on medications that have more extensively verified efficacy.
Some hotels offer lighting devices to jet-lagged guests.
Its light comes on gradually, starting 30 minutes before a desired wake-up time, allegedly providing a gentle way to start the day. No effect was apparent. As often occurs with new treatments that eventually may serve as alternatives or adjuncts to traditional medicine, the public's enthusiasm for light therapy outpaces scientific demonstrations of efficacy. But light evidently is not a panacea. The team, Wirz-Justice said, fell in league standings.