Some ADRD patients spend as much as 40% of the night awake, creating increased risk through falls and injury if they get out of bed and extra worry and tiredness for family, nurses or carers. Clinical research has shown that light can help correct the rest/activity cycles of ADRD patients (there’s also evidence it can help with agitation and aggression as well as depression in this group)
Sunlight stimulates the circadian and neuroendocrine systems that regulate the body’s functions. Large windows and conservatories are nice but bear in mind that light levels quickly drop away from them. Patients 3-4 metres from a window may not receive enough light to have a circadian effect, even on a bright, sunny day.
Our EWindow Daylight product not only produces light that caters for eye comfort, but it can also set the colour temperature to the maximum levels of cool white light which signals alertness to individuals circadian rhythm, giving the correct level of light at the correct time. Following this, patients have been proven to feel more relaxed less agitated and have seen an improvement in their rest/activity patterns overall. Exposure to correct levels of Daylight is proven to have many effects on individuals wellbeing. It encourages the production of the serotonin hormone which is correlated to psychological well being along with many other benefits to our health.
Physiological Benefits
• Increased Visual Comfort
• Improved sleep pattern
• Strengthens and accelerates the healing process
• Balances bodily functions- digestion/sleep cycles/appetite.
• Aids muscle Recovery & Bone health.
Psycological Benefits
Reduces feelings of anxiety Reduces Stress Increased cognitive ability Helps bolster our mood Increased task performance.
Daylight from windows is a circadian-effective light source, but it should not be assumed that there will always be enough circadian stimulation from daylight in architectural spaces [68]. Daylight levels in the room drop quickly as the distance from the window increases three to four meters away from a window, daylight levels are quite low, even on a sunny day. It should be noted too that if sunlight from the window penetrates the room, discomfort glare will cause occupants to draw blinds or shades, eliminating daylight entirely from the space.
Lots of studies have shown that bright light therapy (at least 1,000 lux) for two hours each morning had a variety of benefits on patients: improved night time sleep, increased daytime alertness, reduced evening agitation and better rest/activity patterns overall. Bright light therapy doesn’t involve extra effort or time; for example, patients can have a Daylight product switched on whilst they’re watching TV or having breakfast.
Bright light exposure during the morning (typically >1000 lux at the cornea) has been shown to improve night time sleep, increase daytime alertness, reduce evening agitation behaviour, and consolidate rest/activity patterns of people with ADRD [34, 35, 38, 39–42, 47–51, 57]. All-day, uncontrolled exposure to >1000 lux at the cornea of a white light (4100K) improved sleep efficiency and cognition in individuals with ADRD as well as reduced symptoms of depression [36, 43].
Dawn-dusk simulation. A lighting system such as our Daylight product that appropriately moderates light levels according to time of day has had success in studies relating to ADRD patients [46]. Evening light exposure has also been shown to be effective in consolidating rest/activity rhythms of those with ADRD and helping them to sleep better at night [37, 39, 51]. Lower levels (30 lux at the cornea) of light sources that are more tuned to the spectral sensitivity of the circadian system, such as narrowband short-wavelength (blue) light administered for 2 hours in the early evening were also shown to be effective in increasing sleep efficiency in Individuals with ADRD [44,45].