Abstract
Objectives
Because light can regulate sleep rhythms, numerous studies have investigated whether
light therapy can improve sleep disorders in older people, but its efficacy remains
controversial. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to examine and summarize current
evidence about the efficacy of light therapy to improve sleep for older people in
residential long-term care.
Design
Systematic review.
Setting and participants
Older people living in long-term care settings.
Methods
Systematic searches were conducted in the databases PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane,
EMBASE, CINAHL, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology
Journal Database, WanFang, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and in reference
lists within relevant articles. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they evaluated
light therapy for older people with sleep disorders in long-term care settings.
Results
This systematic review includes 21 articles, summarizing light therapy with different
durations and intensities. The light intervention was typically administered between
7:00 and 12:00 am for 30-120 minutes. The interventions lasted from 1 week to several
months, and the intensity of the light intervention usually ranged from 2500 to 10,000
lux. Short-term exposure (30-60 minutes) with high light levels (≥10,000 lux), relatively
long-term exposure (1-2 hours) with moderate light levels (2500-10,000 lux), or long-term
exposure (1-4 hours or full day) with low light levels (≤2500 lux) were associated
with improved sleep indicators for older people in long-term care settings.
Conclusions and implications
The efficacy of light therapy in long-term care settings may be affected by the duration
of exposure, time and length of intervention, intensity of light, and equipment used
to administer the therapy. Further research must be conducted to optimize light therapy
parameters. Large, high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to deepen
our understanding of the effects of light therapy on sleep in older people living
in long-term care settings.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: November 18, 2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
Mingjiao Zhang and Qin Wang contributed to the work equally and should be regarded as co–first authors.
Funding statement: The study protocol was reviewed and approved for funding by (HLKF2022-4).
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
