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Comparative Study
. 2001 Feb;62(3):221-3.
doi: 10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00149-x.

Morning sunlight reduces length of hospitalization in bipolar depression

F Benedetti  1 , C Colombo, B Barbini, E Campori, E Smeraldi
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Morning sunlight reduces length of hospitalization in bipolar depression

F Benedetti et al. J Affect Disord. 2001 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Bright artificial light improves non-seasonal depression. Preliminary observations suggest that sunlight could share this effect.

Methods: Length of hospitalization was recorded for a sample of 415 unipolar and 187 bipolar depressed inpatients, assigned to rooms with eastern (E) or western (W) windows.

Results: Bipolar inpatients in E rooms (exposed to direct sunlight in the morning) had a mean 3.67-day shorter hospital stay than patients in W rooms. No effect was found in unipolar inpatients.

Conclusions: Natural sunlight can be an underestimated and uncontrolled light therapy for bipolar depression.

Limitations: This is a naturalistic retrospective observation, which needs to be confirmed by prospective studies.

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