Light up your hormones

Men's Fitness, August, 2003

CAN FLIPPING A light switch take the place of therapy? Bright light has already been found to reduce symptoms of depression, and now scientists think they've round the explanation.

The level of a pituitary hormone that boosts testosterone is itself increased when men are exposed to bright light first thing in the morning. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found that amounts of LH, or luteinizing hormone, increased by 69% when subjects were exposed to approximately 150 watts of light from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. for five days. The subjects, all in good health, were between ages 19 and 30.

INCREASED TESTOSTERONE can potentially battle depression, improve libido, counter sexual side effects of antidepressants, and facilitate muscle-building, says lead author Daniel F. Kripke, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at UCSD, who wants to see the experiment repeated using patients with depression.

The study was published in Neuroscience Letters.