Can sunlight help elderly nursing home residents sleep better?

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Article Date: 10 Apr 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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Saint Louis University School of Medicine is exploring whether morning sunlight can help elderly nursing home residents sleep better.

"Many nursing home residents have difficulty sleeping at night," said Julie Gammack, M.D., a SLUCare geriatrician and assistant professor of geriatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

"While one approach to this problem is giving medication that promotes sleep, another solution may be to provide natural sunlight exposure."

Dr. Gammack, who is principal investigator for the study, said previous research shows morning and afternoon light therapy can help regulate sleeping patterns of nursing home residents.

Studies show that natural sunlight helps set our body's internal clock that tells us when to eat and sleep, and normalizes hormonal functions that occur at specific times of the day.

People need to receive about 30 to 60 minutes of exposure to direct sunlight for sleep patterns to improve, Dr. Gammack said.

"Keeping people awake during the day is one element of improving sleep. If people nap during the day, then they are less likely to sleep normally at night," Dr. Gammack said.

"You can set an alarm for the morning, but alarm clocks aren't very effective to prevent frequent daytime napping."

The connection between light and mood is well documented, Dr. Gammack said. Treating patients who have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during the winter months with light therapy helps their mood.

"Light therapy may provide secondary effects on sleep quality that are independent of mood symptoms, such as time to fall asleep and number of awakenings."

A small pilot study Dr. Gammack conducted found that nursing home patients who were exposed to natural light had improved sleep quality.

They had less difficulty falling asleep, fewer episodes of wakefulness during the night and greater satisfaction with the amount of sleep they got.

If sunlight improves sleep for residents of nursing homes, they might not request as many sleeping medications, Dr. Gammack says.

"If this inexpensive and easy method of helping patients sleep better proves to be effective, we could see fewer drug-related side effects and drug-to-drug interactions because we'll prescribe fewer sleeping pills."

Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first M.D. degree west of the Mississippi River. Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ transplantation, chronic disease prevention, cardiovascular disease, neurosciences and vaccine research, among others. The School of Medicine trains physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health services on a local, national and international level.

Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center
St. Louis, MO 63103
United States
Phone 314-977-8015
Fax 314-977-8000
http://www.slu.edu/pr