Light Therapy

Beat Sleep Problems

Too much sleep? Too little sleep? Tired all the time? Restless and agitated? You may toss and turn alone but those with sleep disorders share restless nights with millions of people. Believe it or not, half of the American population over age 65 suffers from chronic sleep disorders.

There are many factors leading to sleep disorders – long work hours, night shifts, extensive travel. Whatever the initial stimulus, the common factor is a disruption in our internal body clock. When our circadian rhythm gets out of sync, it can take time to "reset", which in the mean time results in restless, erratic nights.

Fortunately, medical researchers, like Scott Campbell, PhD, director of the Laboratory of Human Chronobiology at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, are working with sleep disorders at the level of chronobiology or circadian rhythms and are working with treatments that don’t just knock us out, but help the body get back on a healthy, and restful schedule.

Light Therapy Aids Sleep Cures

The use of light therapy to normalize the body’s rhythms, hormone production, and sleep cycles can help eliminate the need for prescription sleeping pills. Research using light therapy to help the elderly strongly suggests that treatments with high LUX light, particularly in the evening, is beneficial for elderly persons who experience sleep disruptions. Light treatments help adjust the wave length of the 24+ hour inner rhythmic cycle, facilitating restful sleep and normal waking.

Further research is showing that morning exposure to bright light can help realign a confused sense of day and night. Experimentation with the timing of light therapy and the length of treatment sessions is helping researchers work with people suffering from sleep disorders to recalibrate their body clocks in more refined increments.

Types of Sleep Disorders

Not all sleep disorders are the same. There’s a science to diagnosis, and then to treatment. Following are descriptions of the three top sleep disorders and light therapy treatment options:

Insomnia occurs regularly in as much as 9% of the general population. It is more common among women, shift workers, middle-aged and older adults, and patients with medical or psychiatric disorders. It has a significant impact on people’s productivity and sense of well being and is the cause of a huge medical expense for diagnosis and treatment across the US.

ASPS: Advanced sleep phase syndrome is defined as difficulty staying awake in the evening as well as easily-disturbed sleep. It primarily affects the elderly and can create anxiety and symptoms of depression. Researchers have successfully experimented with 4000 LUX light sessions for 2 hours in the evening. Patients have reported sleeping longer and more soundly. Evening light exposure can also improve sleep and reduce nighttime wandering, a dangerous symptom for the fragile elderly.

DSPS: Delayed sleep phase syndrome is often characterized by difficulty falling asleep before as late as 3 AM and difficulty functioning in the morning before 10 or 11 AM. This disorder affects 7% of all people seeking treatment for sleep disorders at certified centers. At the Cornell Medical Center in New York, it was found that this type of disruption is most common in adolescents. Light therapy in the early morning can be effective in helping DSPS patients fall asleep earlier.

As light therapy products become more integrated into our lifestyles, research on how we can better use them to beat sleep problems will only increase. Our experimentation and use of natural light as a healing agent may drastically cut dependence on prescription sleeping medication, freeing us to live healthier and happier lives.

Sleep Pattern Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Click here to access the Sleep Pattern Self-Assessment Questionnaire. You can print this out and take the results to your doctor. If you have any serious or recurring conditions that may require medical treatment, consult a licensed physician.