- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur after a person experiences a traumatic event.
- People with PTSD may experience flashbacks, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and a variety of other symptoms.
- Current treatments include psychotherapy, counseling and medication.
- A new study has found that just 30 minutes of blue light therapy in the morning can improve sleep and reduce anxiety. severity of PTSD symptoms.
- The researchers suggest that this easy-to-use therapy could increase the effectiveness of other PTSD treatments.
Most people will experience a shocking, frightening, or dangerous event at some point in their lives. This can lead to a variety of reactions, from which many people can recover.
But for some people, a traumatic experience will leave them with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In fact, around 6% of people in the United States will experience PTSD at some point in their lives.
PTSD can be treated with psychotherapy (talk therapy), counseling, and medications, such as antidepressants.
In a new study, researchers from the University of Arizona and Harvard Medical School found that exposure to blue light for just 30 minutes each morning can improve sleep quality and reduce symptom severity in people with PTSD.
William D. Killgore, Ph.D., the study’s principal investigator, professor of psychiatry, psychology, and medical imaging, and director of the Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry at the University College of Medicine from Arizona, Tucson, said Today’s medical news:
“We found that exposure to morning blue light for half an hour each day was associated with an improvement in total sleep time and some aspects of sleep quality in our sample of PTSD patients. This improvement in sleep was also associated with an increase in the volume of a brain structure called the amygdala (which is often reduced in size in people with PTSD).”
The study was recently published in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience.
PTSD occurs when the usual short-term symptoms after a traumatic event persist for more than 1 month and begin to affect daily life.
PTSD symptoms may include:
- difficulty sleeping or disturbed sleep
- regards
- bad dreams and scary thoughts
- avoidance of anything that might trigger memories of the event
- get scared easily
- angry outbursts
- negative thoughts, depression and anxiety.
Also, around 70-90% of people with PTSD report sleep disturbances, such as recurring nightmares and insomnia.
Previous studies have shown that sleep disruption negatively affects PTSD outcomes, so an improvement in sleep quality is often key to recovery.
At the start of the study, 82 participants, all of whom had clinically significant PTSD, completed two full-day neurocognitive assessments plus neuroimaging scans.
The researchers then randomly assigned the participants into one of two groups. Both groups underwent 6 weeks of home light therapy, comprising 30 minutes of light exposure within 2 hours of waking up and no later than 11 am. One group used a blue light device and the other group used an amber light device.
The study was double-blind: neither the participants nor the staff in direct contact with them knew whether they were receiving blue or amber light therapy.
“We selected blue because it is the most efficient wavelength of light to produce this shift in the biological clock,” explained Dr. Killgore.
“The retina of the eye has specific receptors that respond predominantly to blue wavelengths of light (which is the main wavelength of sunlight), and these receptors project to the circadian clock of the brain (a brain structure known as suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus). So almost any light will work if it’s bright enough, but blue tends to work more efficiently,” he added.
At the start of the study, the researchers assessed the participants’ sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and the frequency and severity of nightmares.
After 6 weeks, all study participants reported improved sleep quality, less interrupted sleep, and lower levels of insomnia and nightmares. But the blue light group also saw a reduction in symptoms, something that was not seen in the control group.
In contrast, the amber light group showed a return to their original scary memories.
“We found that blue light treatment was effective in helping people retain the benefits of a simple extinction treatment for the scary memories. Specifically, participants were conditioned to fear a particular image by giving them a mildly annoying (but not painful) electric shock. We then remove the fear response with a procedure called “extinction” (ie, simply showing the image over and over again without startling).”
– Dr. Killgore, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study
Dr. David A. MerrillPh.D., a geriatric psychiatrist and director of the Pacific Brain Health Center at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was not involved in the study, said MNT:
“Exposure to blue light in the morning positively affects the brain to produce better sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is critical to maximizing and maintaining the benefit seen with PTSD therapies. Without the sleep, you are more likely to lose the benefit.”
“It is well known that exposure to morning light, either through sunlight or a high-intensity light box, can help decrease symptoms of depression. Blue light has also been studied in TBI [traumatic brain injury] and has been shown to aid cognitive recovery. This new study adds to what we know about the benefits of light therapy for PTSD,” he added.
The authors propose that morning blue light therapy could effectively complement other treatments for PTSD.
However, despite the positive implications, it is important to note that the study was small in scale. More research is still needed before blue light therapy can be considered an effective treatment for PTSD.
“We don’t envision blue light treatment as a stand-alone therapy for PTSD, but as something that would be used as a complementary treatment to improve sleep and daily rhythmicity. [or] mood and facilitate gains from other therapies,” said Dr. Killgore.
“Light treatment could be used to maintain daily sleep-wake rhythms in a healthier state. There are many light fixtures available that can be used for this purpose at relatively modest cost.”
Dr. Merrill agreed, calling the findings “exciting.”
“Morning blue light exposure appears to be a promising additional therapy for those undergoing treatment for PTSD using more conventional approaches such as psychotherapy,” said Dr. Merrill.
“Phototherapy is low risk and well tolerated. It can also work as an antidepressant, which is a 2-for-1 bonus.”
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