Light Exposure in Nursing Homes Decreases Sleep Disturbances, Depression and Agitation in Alzheimer's Patients

This study tested whether atailored daytime lighting intervention could improve sleep and behavior in Alzheimer's patients living in long-term care facilities.Compared to baseline and to the inactive lighting condition,the lighting intervention significantly decreased sleep disturbances, depression and agitation.Learn More -What to do when dementia patient gets agitatedWhile all measures improved,the most significant improvement was seen in sleep quality."Here we show that if the stimulus (light dose) is carefully delivered and measured, it can have a strong impact on sleep, depression and agitation. Depression was a secondary measure, and I was pleasantly surprisedby the positive impact of the light treatment on depression scores." ~ said principal investigator and lead author Mariana Figueiro, PhD, a professor and director at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.What can you do? 6 Ways to Solve Problems with SleepThe study involved 43 subjects diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and related dementiawho were exposed to an active and inactive tailored lighting intervention for successive 4-week periods, spaced by a 4-week washout period.The lighting intervention was added to spaces in which patients spent most of their waking hours and was energized from wake time until 6 p.m.Calibrated personal light meters monitored exposures.Measures of sleep disturbances (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), mood (Cornell Scale for Depression in Demen...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer alzheimer wandering bright light care of dementia patients daytime light mood nursing home sleep Source Type: blogs