Abstract
Bright light therapy (BLT) has demonstrated positive short- and long-term effects in people with cognitive impairment or dementia; however, the immediate impact of BLT sessions has been scarcely investigated. In this study, we aimed to explore the immediate effects of BLT on behavior, mood, and physiological parameters (oxygen saturation/heart rate) in a sample of institutionalized older adults with moderate to very severe dementia, with a median age of 85.0 (interquartile range, IQR, 82.0–90.0), being higher in men (87.0 years, IQR 80.0–94.0) than in women (84.5 years, IQR 82.0–89.5). The BLT protocol consisted of 30-min morning sessions of 10,000 lux, Monday through Friday, for 4 weeks. The physiological parameters were recorded immediately before and after each session by pulse oximetry. Mood and behavior were assessed before, after, and during the sessions using the Interact scale. Post-session Interact scores showed a significant decrease in the items Tearful/sad and Talked spontaneously, and a significant increase in the items Enjoying self, active or alert, and Relaxed, content or sleeping appropriately. Interact scores during the sessions reflected a significant decrease in the speech-related items. Both physiological parameters changed positively from before to after sessions. Our results suggest that BLT provides immediate positive effects on mood, stimulation level, and physiological parameters, as well as a trend toward decreased speech. More robust research is needed to further explore the immediate impact of BLT. This study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04949984).
Highlights
Dementia is one of the main causes of disability and dependence among older adults worldwide, constituting a public health priority due to its significant human and financial costs to society [1]
We focus on bright light therapy (BLT)
After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the total sample was reduced from 64 to 39 institutionalized older people (20 participants assigned to the control group and 19 to the Bright light therapy (BLT) group)
Summary
Dementia is one of the main causes of disability and dependence among older adults worldwide, constituting a public health priority due to its significant human and financial costs to society [1]. NPS, known as behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) [9], are defined as a series of signs and symptoms of disturbed perception, thought content, mood, and behavior that frequently occur in dementia and constitute part of the expression of the disease [10]. These symptoms mainly comprise delusions, hallucinations, agitation, depression, anxiety, apathy, irritability, euphoria, disinhibition, aberrant motor behavior, sleep and nighttime behavior disturbances, and changes in appetite and eating behaviors [11,12]
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