ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2020
Bright Light Therapy and Circadian Cycles in Institutionalized Elders.
Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Bright light therapy for post-stroke sleep disturbances: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- The bright and dark side of blue-enriched light on sleep and activity in older adults.GeroScience · 2025Trial
- Effects of light therapy on sleep and circadian rhythm in older type 2 diabetics living in long-term care facilities: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Trial
- Unlocking the potential of circadian biology for cardiovascular health.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Sleep in neurodegenerative diseases: A focus on melatonin, melanin-concentrating hormone and orexin.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- Scoping review of the measurement of care environment factors that impact sleep in the rehabilitation, subacute, and aged care settings.Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society · 2025Review
- Circadian Rhythm Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Bidirectional Perspective and Therapeutic Potential.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- Investigating the effects of indoor lighting on measures of brain health in older adults: protocol for a cross-over randomized controlled trial.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Postoperative cognitive dysfunction: spotlight on light, circadian rhythms, and sleep.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Review
- Effectiveness of multi-modal home-based videoconference interventions on sleep in older adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Circadian Rhythm Changes in Healthy Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment.Advanced biology · 2023Review
- Effects of light therapy on sleep/wakefulness, daily rhythms, and the central orexin system in a diurnal rodent model of seasonal affective disorder.Journal of affective disorders · 2023Article
- The Complex Effects of Light on Metabolism in Humans.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Bright Morning Lighting Enhancing Parasympathetic Activity at Night: A Pilot Study on Elderly Female Patients with Dementia without a Pacemaker.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The impact of insomnia on frailty and the hallmarks of aging.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2023Review
- Sleep Dysfunction in Huntington's Disease: Impacts of Current Medications and Prospects for Treatment.Journal of Huntington's disease · 2023Review
- Blue light exposure-dependent improvement in robustness of circadian rest-activity rhythm in aged rats.PloS one · 2023Article
- Targeting whole body metabolism and mitochondrial bioenergetics in the drug development for Alzheimer's disease.Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2022Review
- Different levels of circadian (de)synchrony -- where does it hurt?F1000Research · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBright light therapy has been found to be an efficient method to improve the main parameters of circadian rhythms. However, institutionalized elders may suffer reduced exposure to diurnal light, which may impair their circadian rhythms, cognitive performance, and general health status.
objectivesTo analyze the effects of 5 days of morning exposure for 90 min to bright light therapy (BLT) applied to institutionalized elderly subjects with mild/moderate cognitive impairment. SUBJECTS: Thirty-seven institutionalized subjects of both sexes, aged 70-93 years.
methodsThe study lasted three consecutive weeks. During the second week the subjects were submitted to BLT (7000-10,000 lux at eye level) on a daily basis. Cognition, attention, and sleep quality were evaluated at the beginning of the first and third week. Circadian variables were recorded continuously throughout the 3 weeks. Non-invasive holders and validated tests were used to analyze the variables studied.
resultsAfter BLT we have found significant improvements in general cognitive capabilities, sleep quality and in the main parameters of the subject's circadian rhythms. The results show that merely 90 min of BLT for five days seems to achieve a significant improvement in a constellation of circadian, sleep, health, and cognitive factors.
conclusionBright light therapy is an affordable, effective, fast-acting therapy for age-related disturbances, with many advantages over pharmacological alternatives. We hypothesize these effects were the result of activating the residual activity of their presumably weakened circadian system.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.