Morning sunlight reduces length of hospitalization in bipolar depression.
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.


CONCLUSIONS
This is a naturalistic retrospective observation, which needs to be confirmed by prospective studies.
Benedetti
F
F
Istituto Scientifico Ospedale San Raffaele, Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, University of Milan, School of Medicine, Via Prinetti 29, 20127 Milan, Italy. benedetti.francesco@hsr.it
Colombo
C
C
Barbini
B
B
Campori
E
E
Smeraldi
E
E
D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D007558:Italy; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013472:Sunlight