Dawn 1)Simulator 2)Curbs Wintertime 3)Blues 模拟日出巧治冬季抑郁症
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For people who suffer from winter depression 4)triggered largely by reduced sunlight, a bedside device that simulates the rising of the sun may provide relief, a study shows.
“Dawn simulation is a naturalistic, non-5)pharmaceutical environmental enhancement now verified superior to 6)placebo and remarkably effective in the treatment of winter depression,”said Dr. Michael Terman.
In the study, dawn simulation, activated toward the end of sleep, proved to be as effective as 7)bright light therapy after waking up-an established treatment for winter depression, also known as 8)seasonal affective disorder or SAD.
With bright light therapy, SAD sufferers sit at a bright light box for 30 minutes at breakfast time. Dawn simulation is more convenient, being delivered automatically and 9)innocuously during the final hours of sleep by an 10)apparatus placed next to the bed.
In the study, Dr. Michael Terman of Columbia University in New York randomly assigned 99 adults with SAD to one of three treatments: dawn simulation equivalent to that of May in 11)northern temperate latitudes; a brief dawn “12)pulse” or bright light after waking.
Full dawn simulation and bright light therapy proved roughly equal in terms of improvement in symptoms of SAD, the investigators report in 13)The American Journal of Psychiatry.
Improvement was seen in 57 percent of subjects in the bright light therapy, and 50 percent of those in the dawn simulation group. By contrast, improvement was seen in 43 percent of subjects in the sunrise pulse group.
Although the sunrise pulse treatment was “therapeutically active”in some patients, it led to the persistence and 14)exacerbation of depressive symptoms, making it an “unfavorable option,”Dr. Terman writes.
Summing up, Dr. Terman said while morning bright light therapy “remains the 15)first-line intervention for SAD, with thousands of successes and satisfied patients,”dawn simulation may also be considered as an option.
有一项研究表明，因为日照过短而患上冬季抑郁症的患者，可以借助一个模拟日出的床边装置来缓解病情。
迈克尔·特尔曼博士介绍说：“日出模拟装置是一种自然的、非药物性的环境改善设备。它已被证实比安慰剂更理想，对治疗冬季抑郁症非常有效。”
研究中，在睡眠快结束时进行的日出模拟治疗法被证实与在患者醒来后进行的光照疗法有着同样的效果。光照疗法是一种常用的治疗冬季抑郁症的方法。冬季抑郁症又称季节性压抑紊乱（SAD）。
运用光照疗法，患者需要在吃早餐的时候坐在一个光线强烈的盒子前长达30分钟。日出模拟治疗法则更加方便，它通过一个放在床边的装置在人的睡眠接近尾声时自动进行治疗，无任何副作用。
在研究过程中，美国纽约哥伦比亚大学的迈克尔·特尔曼博士把99名成人冬季抑郁症患者随机分成三组，分别对他们进行三种不同的治疗：模仿北温带五月日出的日出模拟治疗、短暂的模拟日出“闪动”治疗以及醒来后的光照治疗。
研究者将研究报告发表在《美国精神病学杂志》上。该报告说，在改善冬季抑郁症患者的症状方面，完整的日出模拟治疗和光照疗法有着大致相同的效果。
接受光照疗法的患者中，有57%的人症状得到了改善；而接受日出模拟治疗的患者，症状得到改善的人数比例是50%。相比之下，接受短暂模拟日出“闪动”治疗的患者，症状得到改善的为43%。
虽然模拟日出“闪动”治疗对于一些患者来说是有效的，但这种方法会导致患者的抑郁症状持续并加重。因此，它是一种“不适宜采用的治疗方法”，特尔曼博士写道。
总而言之，特尔曼博士说，虽然早上进行的光照疗法“仍然是治疗冬季抑郁症的第一选择——因为它已经有数千例成功的例子，而且其效果令病人很满意，”但日出模拟治疗法也是一个可供选择的方法。