Bright Light Therapy for the Treatment of Night Eating Syndrome

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an open label bright light therapy (BLT) intervention on night eating behaviors as well as secondary outcomes of mood and sleep quality. It was hypothesized that night eating symptoms, depression, and sleep would significantly improve over the course of treatment. Results showed statistically significant reductions in mean scores on measures assessing night eating symptoms (NESS), depression (BDI), and sleep (ISI). NESS scores decreased on average 9.47 points. Mean BDI scores decreased an average of 9.60 points and mean ISI scores decreased 5.40 points. In addition, participants reported a 47% reduction of weekly nocturnal ingestions (t = 2.68, p = .02) from pre- to post-treatment, decreasing from an average from 3.47 times per week before treatment to 1.83 times per week after treatment. There was not a significant change in weight. This study was one of the first steps in advancing the chronobiological treatment literature by testing the efficacy of bright light therapy to improve symptoms of night eating syndrome.