Research reveals daily light therapy can reduce symptons of dementia
Bright light may help reduce the effects of dementia, according to the findings of a new study.
According to researchers at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, a daily dose of bright light therapy may bring about modest improvements in dementia symptoms.
According to the research, a simple environmental intervention had modest and beneficial effects on cognition, mood and physical function. Combining melatonin with bright light, improved sleep and attenuated nocturnal arousal.
The report found: "Cognitive decline, mood, behavioural and sleep disturbances, and limitations of activities of daily living commonly burden elderly patients with dementia and their caregivers".
Researchers studied the effects of daily supplementation of bright light in 189 elderly people with an average age of 85.8 years. Treatment was administered for up to three and a half years, with ceiling-mounted lights switched on every day between 9am and 6pm.
Facilities were randomised to provide daytime bright light or dim light and residents unsystematically received melatonin or placebo over the testing.
The findings showed bright light reduced cognitive decline by 5%, depressive symptoms by 19% and physical functional decline by 53%. Melatonin reduced sleep latency by 19% and increased sleep duration by 6% and duration of uninterrupted sleep by 25%.
Most improvements were comparable in size to what would be expected for a marketed medication.
Symptoms of dementia include loss of memory, confusion and problems with speech.
Middle-aged smokers have trouble remembering
Middle-aged smokers risk compromising their memory and reasoning skills, according to a study.
Smokers aged between 35 and 55 performed badly in tests of memory, reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency. Ex-smokers had a lower risk of poor cognition, possibly owing to improvement in other health behaviours.
The Whitehall II study, conducted by French researchers and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found people who had given up smoking before the start of the study were 30% less likely to have poor vocabulary and low verbal fluency than those who had continued to smoke.
The findings also concluded people who gave up smoking in midlife were more likely to adopt other healthy lifestyle habits.
