Effects of Bright Light Therapy in Fibromyalgia

Bright light therapy is often used in the treatment of season affective disorders. The researchers of this stsudy wanted to determine whether bright light therapy would have any effect on the the pain, mood and sleep pattern of patients with fibromyalgia.

This 10 week study compared the effects on 14 patients of 4 weeks of light therapy (light condition; mean 4750 lux, SD 2337 lux) to 4 weeks of no light therapy.

The authors conclude that in patients with fibromyalgia there were no significant differences between the ligth and no light conditions. There were no differences found in terms of pain, mood, or sleep patterns.
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The effects of bright light treatment on the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Pearl SJ; Lue F; MacLean AW; Heslegrave RJ; Reynolds WJ; Moldofsky H J Rheumatol, 23(5):896-902 1996 May