Researchers at Flinders University are exploring how something as simple as light exposure could play a powerful role in improving the treatment of depression, a condition affecting more than 300 million people worldwide.
While antidepressant medications are widely used and effective for many, researchers say treatment outcomes remain unpredictable. Nearly half of people diagnosed with depression do not respond to the first medication they try, prompting scientists to search for new ways to better understand how and why treatments work for some people but not others.
Now a new study led by Matthew Flinders Professor Sean Cain is investigating the connection between light exposure, sleep patterns and mood regulation.
“Light does something even more profound than help us see. It sets our internal biological clock, regulates our sleep-wake cycles, and directly influences our mood and wellbeing,” says Professor Cain.
“Our eyes contain specialised cells that detect light and send signals directly to the brain’s master clock, as well as other brain areas which regulate our mood and thinking.”
This biological timing system, known as the circadian rhythm, evolved to function in harmony with natural daylight patterns — bright days and dark nights shaped by the rising and setting sun. However, modern lifestyles are increasingly disrupting that balance.
According to Professor Cain, most people now spend much of their day indoors under artificial lighting that is relatively dim compared to natural daylight. At the same time, exposure to bright screens and lighting in the evening can interfere with the body’s natural signals that it’s time to sleep.
“We spend most of our time indoors under artificial lighting that is dim during the day and relatively bright at night – the opposite of what our biology expects,” he says.
To better understand how these changes might influence depression and treatment outcomes, the Flinders research team has launched the Illuminate Study, which will examine how sensitivity to light changes during depression and throughout antidepressant treatment.
The study is recruiting participants aged between 18 and 35 who are currently experiencing depression. Participants will undergo detailed testing to measure circadian function, including brain imaging, pupillary responses to light, sleep monitoring and hormone pattern assessments in laboratory settings.
Researchers will also track light exposure and sleep patterns in participants’ everyday environments through at-home monitoring. Participants will then begin treatment with the commonly prescribed antidepressant Citalopram and be monitored over an eight-week period.
By studying how light interacts with sleep cycles, mood and medication response, the team hopes to uncover insights that could eventually lead to more personalised treatments for depression.
Professor Cain will also share insights from the research at a public event later this week.
The Light and Mental Health public forum will be held on Friday 13 March from 12pm to 1pm at the Alere Function Centre at the Bedford Park campus of Flinders University.
Find out more at: www.theilluminatestudy.com
Or express interest in the study: www.redcap.link/illuminate
Study inquiries: [email protected]
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