How Does Light Therapy Help Our Circadian Rhythm?

Treatment for circadian rhythm sleep disorders can vary depending on the type of disorder and to what extent it affects your life. Light therapy is one method. However, a sleep expert should always be consulted before attempting to treat your disorder yourself.

Light therapy to support circadian rhythms for a better nights sleep is becoming more popular after much scientific research has confirmed the benefits. Exposure to high-intensity blue light delays melatonin production, which makes us feel sleepy; therefore, blue light helps us feel alert and ready for the day; it has been linked to increased productivity and cogitative processing. To understand more about the impact of different coloured light on our circadian rhythms, click here.

Varying intensities, colours and directions of light have the ‘potential to be clinically beneficial [for example] because it may be easier to provide nursing care to patients whose circadian activity patterns are more socially acceptable’ (Ancoli-Israel et al. 2009).

People diagnosed with dementia often wander around at night, are agitated and have disrupted sleep - hence why it is common for the sleep-wake cycle to be reversed, awake at night, and sleeping during the day. This can be problematic for caregivers.

At the point where loved ones with dementia are beginning to be a danger to themselves, e.g. trying to leave the house during the night as they’re wandering around while the rest of the family is asleep, families will often feel that a care home is the only option. However, light therapy can be beneficial - it may not avoid loved ones going into a care home eventually, but it might postpone the symptoms. ‘This has the potential to save billions of healthcare dollars annually, decrease caregiver stress, and provide opportunities for those with dementia to live at home for longer periods of time’ (Ancoli-Israel et al. 2009).

Also, with the development of circadian lighting for care homes, it can be even more beneficial to residents in later stages of dementia. These residents may struggle to get outside exposed to natural light; therefore, using quality artificial light that mimics the natural light cycle can ensure their circadian rhythms stay in tune. To understand more about this, check out our Heanor Park care home case study.

Having a circadian rhythm that is in sync has many benefits, including improved sleep pattern, improved mood, less risk of developing certain medical conditions (such as diabetes and depression), reduction in errors and accidents (e.g. fewer trips and falls) and faster cognitive processing. A good circadian rhythm has even been linked to an improved immune system: ‘circadian disruption dampens your immune system and makes a virus harder to defeat' (Lisa Health N/A). Also, a healthy circadian rhythm can aid with rehabilitating certain medical conditions, e.g. brain injuries (William D.S. K et al. 2020).

‘Bright light therapy is also used to manage circadian rhythm disorders such as delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), a condition that shifts the normal sleeping pattern outside what is considered the social norm. People who have DSPS generally don't fall asleep until several hours after midnight and have trouble waking up in the morning, adhering to a normal work or school schedule difficult. However, if allowed to follow their own schedules, their quality of sleep is otherwise normal’ (Stanford Health Care N/A).

This treatment gradually shifts sleep patterns to what we consider ‘normal. ‘For treatment, the timing of light exposure is critical. For DSPS, the light must be delivered to the retina as soon after spontaneous awakening as possible to achieve the desired effect. People have also reported success with lights that turn on shortly before awakening to simulate dawn. Morning use may also be effective for non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome, while evening use is recommended for advanced sleep phase syndrome’ (Stanford Health Care N/A). However, there is also a strong argument for installing circadian lighting in offices and schools/colleges/universities, as we spend such a long proportion of our lives in these places. Being exposed to no natural light for all of those hours and potentially the wrong kind of artificial light can again cause our circadian rhythm to become out of sync and make it harder for us to sleep at night, which has various knock-on effects.

Another tip is to try and decrease the amount of blue light you expose yourself to in the evening, e.g. use warm white light bulbs in lamps and avoid bright TV and computer screens.

However, exposure to bright light in the evening may help if you have an advanced sleep disorder.

Asleep expert should always be consulted before attempting to treat your disorder yourself.