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bicycletoo Asked January 2021

Has anyone here tried light therapy for their patient who has dementia? I was reading about this last night, seems to decrease confusion?

AnnReid Jan 2021
I’m going to se if I can find some more of the printed research. I sure would take MIT’s word over that of an anonymous source.

BEFORE surviving COVID (TWICE) my LO had sleep/awake issues that seemed problematic, and she’d just had a change of medications before the lockdown.

Between her two COVID infections, during the few visits we’d managed, she’d seemed pretty much herself, so if there were ANYTHING that could help her be more alert, I’d be interested.

Thank you for posting!

GardenArtist Jan 2021
Bicycletoo, I haven't read anything specific, but recall some general discussions with nurses and therapists, years ago, about transitioning from daylight through evening and into darkness.

Lights could play a factor, but I also remember that activity was suggested as well, and refocus on the impending darkness.  

I haven't read any studies, although it would be interesting, to know more about how the brain perceives the change from light to darkness, and why it's confusing, although from my own experience, with uncorrected and then corrected cataracts, I still feel less comfortable in the dark b/c at my age my vision isn't as clear as it was when I was younger.  So there's a sense of uncertainty when driving.  

When I was younger, I even used to garden in the darkness, but I wouldn't consider that now...never!

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cwillie Jan 2021
I've also read of some positive results with sundowning. I know it's come up on the forum before but I'm not sure anyone has ever come back to share their successes or failures.
Try searching "light therapy" on the site.

AnnReid Jan 2021
Were you reading the advertising on FB?

The thing about those ads that has jumped out at me, is that the only positive review is written by a physical therapist who is speaking about working with a client with a communication issue, presumably caused by dementia.

Although there is often some very interesting interaction among physical, occupational, and communication therapies with geriatric clients, the actual specific therapies are not often as interrelated as the ad seems to me to imply.

None of the therapists I’ve known over an almost 40 year career would attempt to indicate a successful outcome being caused by an application in another discipline, and I certainly would either. To me doing so would seem unprofessional.
bicycletoo Jan 2021
The one I was reading about was developed by MIT, where they did animal testing with mice, then have used it with a limited amount of human patients with dementia. I am considering it for my mom, since she has a research clinician neurologist directing her care (Nantz Alzheimer's National center), and she is getting progressively worse, which is unfortunately the expectation. I figured that the light may be worth a try, it won't do any harm.
Did you a have a loved one use the light unsuccessfully? Thanks.

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