BIOMAT Database Logo BIOMAT Database Logo

Tailored lighting intervention improves measures of sleep, depression, and agitation in persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia living in long-term care facilities. 2014

Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.

BACKGROUND Light therapy has shown great promise as a nonpharmacological method to improve symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), with preliminary studies demonstrating that appropriately timed light exposure can improve nighttime sleep efficiency, reduce nocturnal wandering, and alleviate evening agitation. Since the human circadian system is maximally sensitive to short-wavelength (blue) light, lower, more targeted lighting interventions for therapeutic purposes, can be used. METHODS The present study investigated the effectiveness of a tailored lighting intervention for individuals with ADRD living in nursing homes. Low-level "bluish-white" lighting designed to deliver high circadian stimulation during the daytime was installed in 14 nursing home resident rooms for a period of 4 weeks. Light-dark and rest-activity patterns were collected using a Daysimeter. Sleep time and sleep efficiency measures were obtained using the rest-activity data. Measures of sleep quality, depression, and agitation were collected using standardized questionnaires, at baseline, at the end of the 4-week lighting intervention, and 4 weeks after the lighting intervention was removed. RESULTS The lighting intervention significantly (P<0.05) decreased global sleep scores from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and increased total sleep time and sleep efficiency. The lighting intervention also increased phasor magnitude, a measure of the 24-hour resonance between light-dark and rest-activity patterns, suggesting an increase in circadian entrainment. The lighting intervention significantly (P<0.05) reduced depression scores from the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia and agitation scores from the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. CONCLUSIONS A lighting intervention, tailored to increase daytime circadian stimulation, can be used to increase sleep quality and improve behavior in patients with ADRD. The present field study, while promising for application, should be replicated using a larger sample size and perhaps using longer treatment duration.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008609 Mental Status Schedule Standardized clinical interview used to assess current psychopathology by scaling patient responses to the questions.
D009735 Nursing Homes Facilities which provide nursing supervision and limited medical care to persons who do not require hospitalization. Homes, Nursing,Nursing Home
D010789 Phototherapy Treatment of disease by exposure to light, especially by variously concentrated light rays or specific wavelengths. Blue Light Therapy,Blue-light Therapy,Light Therapy,Photoradiation Therapy,Red Light Phototherapy,Therapy, Photoradiation,Blue Light Therapies,Blue-light Therapies,Light Phototherapies, Red,Light Phototherapy, Red,Light Therapies,Light Therapies, Blue,Light Therapy, Blue,Photoradiation Therapies,Phototherapies,Phototherapies, Red Light,Phototherapy, Red Light,Red Light Phototherapies,Therapies, Blue Light,Therapies, Blue-light,Therapies, Light,Therapies, Photoradiation,Therapy, Blue Light,Therapy, Blue-light,Therapy, Light
D011595 Psychomotor Agitation A feeling of restlessness associated with increased motor activity. This may occur as a manifestation of nervous system drug toxicity or other conditions. Agitation, Psychomotor,Akathisia,Excitement, Psychomotor,Restlessness,Psychomotor Hyperactivity,Psychomotor Restlessness,Hyperactivity, Psychomotor,Psychomotor Excitement,Restlessness, Psychomotor
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D002940 Circadian Rhythm The regular recurrence, in cycles of about 24 hours, of biological processes or activities, such as sensitivity to drugs or environmental and physiological stimuli. Diurnal Rhythm,Nyctohemeral Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythm,Nycthemeral Rhythm,Circadian Rhythms,Diurnal Rhythms,Nycthemeral Rhythms,Nyctohemeral Rhythms,Rhythm, Circadian,Rhythm, Diurnal,Rhythm, Nycthemeral,Rhythm, Nyctohemeral,Rhythm, Twenty-Four Hour,Rhythms, Circadian,Rhythms, Diurnal,Rhythms, Nycthemeral,Rhythms, Nyctohemeral,Rhythms, Twenty-Four Hour,Twenty Four Hour Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythms
D003704 Dementia An acquired organic mental disorder with loss of intellectual abilities of sufficient severity to interfere with social or occupational functioning. The dysfunction is multifaceted and involves memory, behavior, personality, judgment, attention, spatial relations, language, abstract thought, and other executive functions. The intellectual decline is usually progressive, and initially spares the level of consciousness. Senile Paranoid Dementia,Amentia,Familial Dementia,Amentias,Dementia, Familial,Dementias,Dementias, Familial,Dementias, Senile Paranoid,Familial Dementias,Paranoid Dementia, Senile,Paranoid Dementias, Senile,Senile Paranoid Dementias
D003863 Depression Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER present in neurotic and psychotic disorders. Depressive Symptoms,Emotional Depression,Depression, Emotional,Depressive Symptom,Symptom, Depressive
D005260 Female Females

Related Publications

Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Barriers and facilitators to care for agitation and/or aggression among persons living with dementia in long-term care.
April 2024, BMC geriatrics,
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Sleep in Persons Living with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.
June 2021, The Nursing clinics of North America,
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Quality of Life and Pain Medication Use in Persons With Advanced Dementia Living in Long-Term Care Facilities.
November 2019, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association,
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Sleep patterns of aged persons in long-term care facilities.
January 1986, Journal of advanced nursing,
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Lighting and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Spotlight on Sleep and Depression.
August 2021, Lighting research & technology (London, England : 2001),
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
The effect of paracetamol on care dependency and daily functioning in persons with advanced dementia living in long-term care facilities.
March 2024, BMC geriatrics,
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Depression in older residents with stroke living in long-term care facilities.
June 2014, The journal of nursing research : JNR,
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Improving long-term care for persons with Alzheimer's disease.
January 1996, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Alzheimer's disease. Special care units in long-term care facilities.
March 1992, Journal of gerontological nursing,
Mariana G Figueiro, and Barbara A Plitnick, and Anna Lok, and Geoffrey E Jones, and Patricia Higgins, and Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Management of patients with Alzheimer's disease in long-term care facilities.
March 1988, The Nursing clinics of North America,
Copied contents to your clipboard!