Can sleep deprivation and light therapy beat the blues in just one week?

NCT ID NCT05691647

Symptom relief Sponsor: St. Olavs Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether chronotherapy—a combination of staying awake for 34 hours, light therapy, and a fixed sleep schedule—can quickly improve depression symptoms when added to standard care. 76 adults with moderate to severe depression will be randomly assigned to get chronotherapy plus usual treatment or usual treatment alone. The main goal is to see if symptoms drop more in the chronotherapy group after one week.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: chronotherapy (sleep deprivation, sleep-phase advancement, light therapy)
What this could lead to: If it works, this could offer a fast-acting, drug-free way to reduce depression symptoms within a week.
What could go wrong: This is a small, early-stage trial with only 76 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. Sleep deprivation can be tough to tolerate and may not work for all.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 76 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Apr 2023

Expected to finish

Jan 2040

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 100 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion criteria. Patients eligible for the trial must comply with all the following at randomization: * Being 18 years or older * Willing and able to provide a written informed consent * Newly diagnosed with an ongoing moderate or severe depressive episode according to the International Classification of Disorders 10th edition (ICD-10) and accepted for treatment for the depressive episode. The diagnosis is set in consensus of a licensed therapist and a specialist in psychiatry/psychology. * The patient must score ≥ 9 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-6. * Must be able to communicate in a Scandinavian language Exclusion criteria. Patients are considered ineligible for participation if any of the following are present: * Illnesses and treatments where chronotherapy may be contraindicated (for example epilepsy, ongoing attack of multiple sclerosis, blindness, narcolepsy and psychotic depression, ECT treatment). * Known pregnancy. * Individuals with a known diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder (F60.3). * Individuals with a known psychotic disorder * Shiftwork or other related social or work circumstances that inhibit participation * Participation in an ongoing trial at the outpatient clinic that encompasses digital cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (recruitment to this trial will end in 2023).

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

major depressive disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Depressive episode

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

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A doctor treating you

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Can sleep deprivation and light therapy beat the blues in just one week?

What the study statuses mean