Phototherapy for seasonal affective disorder: a blind comparison of three different schedules

The authors investigated the outcome of an alternating time schedule versus two fixed schedules (either morning or evening) of bright light treatment for seasonal affective disorder. The subjects were 31 patients who met DSM-III-R criteria for major depression with a seasonal pattern. No statistically significant difference was observed among patients in the three groups for response criteria after 1 week of treatment. These results support the use of more flexible phototherapy schedules.