Does bright light have an anxiolytic effect? - an open trial.

The aim of this open trial was to examine the influence of acute bright light exposure on anxiety in older and young adults. This study was ancillary to a complex 5-day laboratory experiment testing phase-responses to light at all times of the day. On 3 consecutive days, participants were exposed to bright light (3,000 lux) for 3 hours. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y1) was administered 5 minutes before and 20 minutes after each treatment. Mean state anxiety before and after treatment were analyzed by age, sex, and time ANOVA. To avoid floor effects, only participants with baseline STAI levels of ≥ 25 were included. A significant anxiolytic effect of bright light was found for the mean data, as well as for each of the three days. No significant main effect of age, sex, or interaction of these factors with STAI change were found. The results show consistent and significant (albeit modest) anxiolytic effects following acute bright light exposure in low anxiety adults. Further randomized, controlled trials in clinically anxious individuals are needed.

这项开放性试验的目的是研究急性强光暴露对老年人和年轻人焦虑的影响。 这项研究是一项为期5天的复杂实验室实验的附属研究，该实验测试一天中所有时间对光的相位反应。参与者连续3天暴露在强光（3000勒克斯）下3小时。在每次治疗前5分钟和治疗后20分钟使用斯皮尔伯格状态 - 特质焦虑量表（Y1型）进行测试。通过年龄、性别和时间方差分析对治疗前后的平均状态焦虑进行分析。为避免下限效应，仅纳入基线状态 - 特质焦虑量表水平≥25的参与者。 对于平均数据以及三天中的每一天，都发现强光有显著的抗焦虑作用。未发现年龄、性别或这些因素与状态 - 特质焦虑量表变化的交互作用有显著的主效应。 结果显示，在低焦虑成年人中，急性强光暴露后有一致且显著（尽管程度适中）的抗焦虑作用。需要在临床焦虑个体中进行进一步的随机对照试验。