Light Therapy to Improve Sleep Quality in Older Adults Living in Residential Long-Term Care: A Systematic Review

Antidepressant effect of bright light therapy on patients with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers

Background: As a non-pharmacologic treatment, bright light therapy (BLT) is often used to improve affective disorders and memory function. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of BLT on depression and electrophysiological features of the brain in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their caregivers using a light-emitting diode device of 14000 lux. Methods: A 4-week case-control trial was conducted. Neuropsychiatric and electroencephalogram (EEG) examination were evaluated at baseline and after 4 weeks. EEG power in delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), and beta (12-30 Hz) bands was calculated for our main analysis. Demographic and clinical variables were analyzed using Student's t test and the chi-square test. Pearson's correlation was used to determine the correlation between electrophysiological features, blood biochemical indicators, and cognitive assessment scale scores. Results: In this study, 22 in-patients with AD and 23 caregivers were recruited. After BLT, the Hamilton depression scale score decreased in the fourth week. Compared with the age-matched controls of their caregivers, a higher spectral power at the lower delta and theta frequencies was observed in the AD group. After BLT, the EEG power of the delta and theta frequencies in the AD group decreased. No change was observed in blood amyloid concentrations before and after BLT. Conclusion: In conclusion, a 4-week course of BLT significantly suppressed depression in patients with AD and their caregivers. Moreover, changes in EEG power were also significant in both groups.

35 years of light treatment for mental disorders in the Netherlands

BACKGROUND

Light therapy (LT) for Seasonal Affective Disorders (SAD) has been a well-known and effective treatment for 40 years. The psychiatric university clinic of Groningen, the Netherlands was an early adopter and started research and treatment of SAD in 1987. Research projects on mechanisms, the role of the circadian system, treatment optimization, and investigating new areas for the effects of light treatment have been carried out ever since, leading to a widespread interest across the country.

OBJECTIVE

To provide an overview and description of the historical development of LT for mental disorders in the Netherlands.

METHODS

A non-systematic, review of research on light treatment for mental problems in the Netherlands, published since 1987 was conducted.

RESULTS

The fields of LT and chronotherapy are strongly based in the scientific interests of both chrono-biologists and therapists in the Netherlands. LT has shown effectiveness in treating mood disorders. Likewise, results for other mental disorders have shown some promise, but so far, the outcomes are not always unequivocal and have not always been based on robust data. Ongoing research is discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

LT, and in addition exposure to the right light at the right time is an important issue in mental health. Over the past 3 decades research on light and LT in the Netherlands has become well established and is still growing.