Dawn simulation treatment of winter depression: a controlled study

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine whether dawn simulation was superior to a shorter dimmer "placebo" dawn signal in treating winter depression. METHOD: In a randomized, parallel design, 22 patients with winter depression were treated with either 1 week of a 2-hour dawn simulation peaking at 250 lux or 1 week of a 30-minute dawn simulation peaking at 0.2 lux. The subjects were told that they would receive either a "gradual" dawn or a "rapid" dawn reaching an intensity that would be dimmer than standard bright light treatment. At the end of both the baseline week and the treatment week, subjects were assessed in a blind manner with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Analysis of covariance was used to compare the two dawn treatments. RESULTS: The 2-hour, 250-lux dawn simulation resulted in Hamilton depression scale scores that were significantly lower than scores after the 30-minute, 0.2-lux dawn simulation. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that dawn simulation is an effective treatment for winter depression.