A Non-Pharmacological Method for Enhancing Sleep in PTSD

Sleep disturbance is nearly ubiquitous among individuals suffering from PTSD and is a major
problem among service members returning from combat deployments. The proposed study aims to
test a novel, inexpensive, and easy to use approach to improving sleep among service members
with PTSD.

Primary outcome measures will include not only PTSD symptom improvement but also include
neuroimaging of brain structure, function, connectivity, and neurochemistry changes. The
proposal is firmly grounded in the emerging scientific literature regarding sleep, light
exposure, brain function, anxiety, and resilience. Prior evidence suggests that bright light
therapy is effective for improving mood and fatigue, and our pilot data further suggest that
this treatment may be effective for improving daytime sleepiness and brain functioning in
brain injured individuals. Thus, this intervention, in our own research and in the work of
others, has been shown to affect critical sleep regulatory systems. Improving sleep may be a
vital component of recovery in these service members. Our approach would directly address
this issue. Our preliminary data have shown that this approach is extremely well tolerated
and is effective for improving sleep, mood, cognitive performance, and brain function among
individuals with brain injuries.

Finally, the potential impact of this study is high because of the capability of
transitioning the research to direct clinical application almost immediately. If the bright
light treatment is demonstrated as effective, this approach would be readily available for
nearly immediate large-scale implementation, as the devices have been widely used for years
in other contexts, are already safety tested, and commercially available from several
manufacturers for a very low cost. Thus, the impact of this research on treating PTSD would
be high and immediate.