Psychiatry -- Ask The Experts

I have had insomnia for 2.5 years now, taking several medications. Have you studied if light therapy can be helpful to insomnia sufferers? Answered by: Michael Terman

Light therapy can indeed be useful for counteracting "early insomnia" (when you can't fall asleep until very late) or "late insomnia” (when you awaken far too early).

In such circadian rhythm sleep disorders, standard sleeping pills are ineffective – which is probably why you have written to us!

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Michael Terman, Ph.D.
Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry

Dr. Terman is Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry at the College of Physicians & Surgeons. He heads the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and the Clinical Chronobiology Program at New York State Psychiatric Institute.

His fields of interest include depression, sleep, clinical chronobiology, photobiology, melatonin, instrumentation, psychiatric diagnosis and assessment. He was graduated from Columbia College in 1964 and received a doctorate in physiological psychology from Brown University in 1968. With his career-long c...
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