[Wake therapy for major depression].

Patients admitted with depression are highly tormented and many are suicidal. Standard treatment does not offer full effect until after several weeks. Wake therapy is a method that may reduce depressive symptoms within days. In this paper, the literature regarding wake therapy is reviewed. The response rates in wake therapy are high, but the effect is often transitory. However, recent studies indicate that wake therapy in combination with other chronotherapeutic interventions, e.g. light therapy, can produce a rapid and sustained antidepressant effect.