Pitt researchers found that a combination of bright-light therapy and blue-light blocking helped reduce depression symptoms in young adults.

The research project studied interventions designed to shift sleep cycles earlier and re-adjust circadian rhythms, the body’s biological clock for functioning. Its publication comes as a growing number of U.S. teens and college students report getting insufficient sleep. 

The researchers compared two approaches — bright-light therapy in the morning alone and a combination of bright-light therapy in the morning and blue-light blocking glasses in the evening. While the standalone therapy did not yield significant results, the combined intervention showed significant decreases in depression symptoms among young adults, according to the study publication.

Delainey Wescott, a postdoctoral researcher in Pitt’s Department of Psychiatry, led the study, which involved young adults ages 18 to 22 years old with late bedtimes and mild to moderate depression symptoms. Wescott said adolescence and young adulthood are periods when biological changes occur, particularly within sleep and circadian rhythm systems.

“Student circadian health is really important for a lot of different health and academic outcomes, as well as overall well-being,” Wescott said. “Focusing on ways to make it easier to go to sleep earlier can have many practical implications, especially for college students.”

During bright-light therapy, participants wore glasses designed to emit light, a treatment for seasonal depression well-established by literature. For blue-light blocking therapy, participants wore blue-light blocking glasses for about two hours in the evening before bed.

Wescott highlighted the importance of studying how light exposure affects the circadian system, particularly by increasing the contrast of daytime and nighttime environments — brighter days and darker nights — to support healthy sleep routines.

“We want to be going outside and getting exposed to more light during the day, but reduce the amount of light when it’s evening before bed,” Wescott said. “It’s very exciting seeing these preliminary findings and the change in circadian health through these interventions.”

Wescott said the current study was a pilot study, a small-scale research project to evaluate study designs and procedures. She said future steps involve expanding the sample size, including control groups and determining longevity of the interventions.

“We see effects during the two weeks of treatment, but two weeks is also just a blip in someone’s life,” Wescott said. “We want to see if those effects can be maintained longer than just two weeks and whether they can lead to long-lasting change in improving sleep and circadian health.”

The results build on a randomized control trial by the same research team that focused on shifting adolescents’ sleep cycles through a similar protocol with interventions of bright-light therapy in the morning and blue-light blocking glasses in the evening before bed. 

“In combination, these two studies really show the utility and more practical feasibility of using some circadian interventions for both adolescents and young adults with late sleep timing,” Wescott said.

Sean Guo, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said he sees many people using blue-light blocking glasses to help reduce eye strain while working and limit stimulating light before bed.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about [blue-light blocking glasses], so I would be open to trying them,” Guo said.

Guo said he believes the effectiveness of the interventions would depend on the person and their circumstances. 

“I don’t use a lot of electronics before bed, but for someone who has work to finish the next day or classes at night, there’s a lot of blue light then, so the glasses would be useful for them,” Guo said.

Nathaniel Girmay, a senior molecular biology major, said he would be “100% interested” in trying these interventions to improve sleep cycles.

“It’s hard to get enough sleep, so anything that can help improve or increase sleep would be helpful, even if it’s just a little bit,” Girmay said.

Girmay emphasized that elements of students’ lives including maintaining good grades, extracurriculars, volunteering and social lives all contribute to difficulty getting enough sleep.

“You drink coffee to wake up, which delays sleep, which requires more caffeine the next day,” Girmay said. “Especially with STEM classes, your time management has to be elite, and even then, a bit of sleep is sacrificed.”

Girmay said he is trying to “respect the need for sleep” more now and uses small interventions, such as setting red phone light filters and reducing the amount of time on his phone before bed. He said he hopes other affordable interventions can also be developed to help with improving sleep cycles.

“The only reason I didn’t get blue-light [blocking lenses in my glasses] initially was because they were pretty expensive,” Girmay said. “But, if these interventions can be further developed and more affordable, I would definitely be interested in utilizing them.”

Pitt researchers found that a combination of bright-light therapy and blue-light blocking helped reduce depression symptoms in young adults.

The research project studied interventions designed to shift sleep cycles earlier and re-adjust circadian rhythms, the body’s biological clock for functioning. Its publication comes as a growing number of U.S. teens and college students report getting insufficient sleep. 

The researchers compared two approaches — bright-light therapy in the morning alone and a combination of bright-light therapy in the morning and blue-light blocking glasses in the evening. While the standalone therapy did not yield significant results, the combined intervention showed significant decreases in depression symptoms among young adults, according to the study publication.

Delainey Wescott, a postdoctoral researcher in Pitt’s Department of Psychiatry, led the study, which involved young adults ages 18 to 22 years old with late bedtimes and mild to moderate depression symptoms. Wescott said adolescence and young adulthood are periods when biological changes occur, particularly within sleep and circadian rhythm systems.

“Student circadian health is really important for a lot of different health and academic outcomes, as well as overall well-being,” Wescott said. “Focusing on ways to make it easier to go to sleep earlier can have many practical implications, especially for college students.”

During bright-light therapy, participants wore glasses designed to emit light, a treatment for seasonal depression well-established by literature. For blue-light blocking therapy, participants wore blue-light blocking glasses for about two hours in the evening before bed.

Wescott highlighted the importance of studying how light exposure affects the circadian system, particularly by increasing the contrast of daytime and nighttime environments — brighter days and darker nights — to support healthy sleep routines.

“We want to be going outside and getting exposed to more light during the day, but reduce the amount of light when it’s evening before bed,” Wescott said. “It’s very exciting seeing these preliminary findings and the change in circadian health through these interventions.”

Wescott said the current study was a pilot study, a small-scale research project to evaluate study designs and procedures. She said future steps involve expanding the sample size, including control groups and determining longevity of the interventions.

“We see effects during the two weeks of treatment, but two weeks is also just a blip in someone’s life,” Wescott said. “We want to see if those effects can be maintained longer than just two weeks and whether they can lead to long-lasting change in improving sleep and circadian health.”

The results build on a randomized control trial by the same research team that focused on shifting adolescents’ sleep cycles through a similar protocol with interventions of bright-light therapy in the morning and blue-light blocking glasses in the evening before bed. 

“In combination, these two studies really show the utility and more practical feasibility of using some circadian interventions for both adolescents and young adults with late sleep timing,” Wescott said.

Sean Guo, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said he sees many people using blue-light blocking glasses to help reduce eye strain while working and limit stimulating light before bed.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about [blue-light blocking glasses], so I would be open to trying them,” Guo said.

Guo said he believes the effectiveness of the interventions would depend on the person and their circumstances. 

“I don’t use a lot of electronics before bed, but for someone who has work to finish the next day or classes at night, there’s a lot of blue light then, so the glasses would be useful for them,” Guo said.

Nathaniel Girmay, a senior molecular biology major, said he would be “100% interested” in trying these interventions to improve sleep cycles.

“It’s hard to get enough sleep, so anything that can help improve or increase sleep would be helpful, even if it’s just a little bit,” Girmay said.

Girmay emphasized that elements of students’ lives including maintaining good grades, extracurriculars, volunteering and social lives all contribute to difficulty getting enough sleep.

“You drink coffee to wake up, which delays sleep, which requires more caffeine the next day,” Girmay said. “Especially with STEM classes, your time management has to be elite, and even then, a bit of sleep is sacrificed.”

Girmay said he is trying to “respect the need for sleep” more now and uses small interventions, such as setting red phone light filters and reducing the amount of time on his phone before bed. He said he hopes other affordable interventions can also be developed to help with improving sleep cycles.

“The only reason I didn’t get blue-light [blocking lenses in my glasses] initially was because they were pretty expensive,” Girmay said. “But, if these interventions can be further developed and more affordable, I would definitely be interested in utilizing them.”