Other Bright Light Therapy Applications

SUNDOWNING IN DEMENTIA AND
ALZHEIMER’S PATIENTS

Recent research studies show that bright light
therapy helps ease sundowning behavior, the
unsettled behavior occurring in the late afternoon
and evening in patients suffering from dementia
and Alzheimer’s disease. Sundowning manifests
as demanding, suspicious, agitated or disoriented behavior; also, the patient may wander or pace. The exact cause of sundowning is unknown, but a contributing factor has been identified as disturbance in the patient’s “internal clock” or circadian rhythms, which causes agitated behavior and disrupts the normal sleep-wake cycle. Bright light therapy offers effective behavioral intervention for sundowning.

Light is an important modulator of circadian rhythms, and bright light therapy provides a much brighter light than normal indoor lighting. When patients are exposed to bright light, the increased illumination adjusts their circadian rhythms resulting in a more normal sleep-wake cycle.

LightenUp Too™ and LightenUp Plus™ bright light therapy devices are ideal sources of the type of brightlight used in these studies.

ERRATIC SCHEDULES, JET LAG, PMS AND MORE

For people with erratic work schedules that deprive them of exposure to natural sunlight, Bright Light Therapy solves the problem by providing virtual sunlight available any time.

Lack of sunlight can affect natural biological cycles
and moods. Research documents the effects of sun
deprivation, which can include sadness, irritability,
and lethargy. Clinicians discovered that therapy with full color spectrum light could have beneficial results on biological cycles as well as state of mind. For a variety of people such as healthcare providers; police, fire and emergency staff; military personnel; factory workers; performing artists and technicians; airline employees; and the retail workforce, bright light therapy can be a solution to sunlight deprivation and a way to restore equilibrium to an irregular or shifting schedule.

Bright light therapy also is beneficial for jet lagged travelers or for women suffering the symptoms of PMS and postpartum depression.