'Dawn Simulation' Provides AlternateTreatment for SAD

Two new therapies have shown to be successful at treating people suffering from the winter blues. Dawn simulation, which uses a bedside machine to gradually deliver light at the same time as the summer sunrise, and negative air ionization have shown to be equally as effective as commonly prescribed bright light therapy in treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Columbia University researchers assigned 99 adults suffering from the disorder to one of five therapies: dawn simulation, low negative air ionization, high negative air ionization, a brief pulse light treatment at dawn and bright light therapy, in which patients exposed themselves to 30 minutes of bright light after waking.

Fifty-seven percent of patients who received bright light therapy, 50 percent of those who underwent dawn simulation and 48 percent in the high air ionization group showed improvement, while pulse therapy produced mixed results and the low ionization group showed low rates improvement.

Read more: Got the winter blues? Dawn simulator may help

ABSTRACT: Controlled Trial of Naturalistic Dawn Simulation and Negative Air Ionization for Seasonal Affective Disorder