Vita-Lite Full Spectrum Lamps - Natural Lighting Improves Alzheimers

FULL SPECTRUM LAMPS - EFFECTS ON ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS

THE INFLUENCE OF INTERVENTIONS CONTROLLING NATURAL DAYLIGHTING EFFECTS ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE PATIENTS

MELINDA LA GARCE, M.F.A., DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED ARTS, I 237 WEST LAKE ROAD, MURPHYSBORO, ILLINOIS, 6296S, USA; DONNA FALVO, PH.D., DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE; SHARON SMAGA, M.D., DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: WHILE THERE IS MUCH ATTENTION CURRENTLY BEING GIVEN TO ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) AND TO ENVIRONMENTAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCH AT MOST ALL LEVELS RELATING TO THAT DISEASE, DATA REGARDING THE NATURE AND SEVERITY OF BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS IN SUBJECTS WITH AD HAVE BEEN ACQUIRED THROUGH CLINICAL OBSERVATION OR SELF-REPORT FROM FAMILY MEMBERS RATHER THAN FROM EMPIRICALLY DERIVED DOCUMENTATION THROUGH SYSTEMATIC AND REPEATED OBSERVATIONS USING RELIABLE BEHAVIORAL RATING SCALES. WHILE AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN LIGHT EXPOSURE AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS IN AD HAS BEEN SUGGESTED IN SEVERAL STUDIES, LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE TO RESEARCH THE EFFECTS OF THE SETTING SUN ON BEHAVIORS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH AD. THE NATURAL EFFECTS OF THE SETTING SUN SEEM TO PRECIPITATE AND/OR INTENSIFY CERTAIN BEHAVIORS. THIS CONCURRENCE IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "SUNDOWNING" OR THE "SUNDOWN SYNDROME."

THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROJECT MANIPULATES THE DESIGNED INTERIOR ENVIRONMENT IN ORDER TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF THOSE INTERVENTIONS ON THE BEHAVIORS OF A SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION THAT HAS BECOME OF CRITICAL CONCERN TO THIS GENERATION AND WILL MOST LIKELY BE OF GREATER CONCERN TO FUTURE GENERATIONS. A MAJOR ISSUE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WILL BE SOCIETY'S CARE OF ITS ELDERLY POPULATION. BY THE TIME WE GET TO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY OUR ELDERLY POPULATION WILL BE 32 MILLION IN THE USA ALONE, AND BY 2050 THERE WILL BE 1.5 BILLION PEOPLE OVER 65 GLOBALLY. FINDINGS FROM THIS RESEARCH PROJECT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IMPACT PROFOUNDLY ON THE QUALITY OF CARE FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS.

PURPOSE: TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF DESIGNED ENVIRONMENTAL INTERVENTIONS WHICH CONTROL THE NATURAL DAYLIGHT EFFECTS OF THE SETTING SUN ON THE DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. THIS EXPERIMENTAL, BIOTECHNOLOGICAL STUDY CONTRIBUTES NEW, EMPIRICALLY BASED KNOWLEDGE REGARDING THOSE EFFECTS.

METHODOLOGY: SUBJECTS ALTERNATED MONTHLY FOR FOUR MONTHS BETWEEN A CONTROL ROOM WITH NO NATURAL DAYLIGHT INTERVENTIONS AND AN EXPERIMENTAL ROOM WITH DESIGNED NATURAL DAYLIGHT CONTROLS NEGATING THE EFFECTS OF THE SETTING SUN. ONE INTERVENTION DESIGNED TO CONTROL THE EFFECTS OF THE SETTING SUN WAS "FULL SPECTRUM LAMPS" DURO-TEST VITA-LITE ELECTRIC LIGHTING WHICH INCLUDED ALL COLORS (WHITE LIGHT) AND ULTRAVIOLET WAVELENGTHS. EACH SUBJECT WAS VIDEO TAPED FOR APPROXIMATELY 320 HOURS DURING THE FOUR MONTH PERIOD. TRAINED OBSERVERS RECORDED THE FREQUENCY OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS, APPROXIMATE TIME OF DAY, SESSION CODE, AND MADE NOTEWORTHY COMMENTS ON SUBJECT OBSERVATION FORMS.

FINDINGS: THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES 1 ) THE GREATEST DECREASE IN DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS WAS 41 % IN THE EXPERIMENTAL ENVIRONMENT DURING THE WINTER CYCLE; 2) THE DECREASE IN DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS WAS 11% IN THE EXPERIMENTAL ENVIRONMENT DURING THE SPRING CYCLE; 3) OVERALL DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS DECREASED BY 29% IN THE EXPERIMENTAL ENVIRONMENT; 4) INDIVIDUALS EXHIBITING THE HIGHEST FREQUENCIES OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR ALSO DEMONSTRATED THE MOST DRAMATIC DECREASE IN THOSE BEHAVIORS IN THE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS; AND 5) INTER-RATER RELIABILITY ACROSS ALL OBSERVATION TAPES WAS .70.

Additional Studies: Vita-Lite Full Spectrum Lamps - Education Study