Simple daily tips can improve the condition of dementia patients

People with dementia often have problems sleeping. To alleviate and improve this problem, a simple treatment can help.

Even in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease, many people affected (70 percent) have trouble sleeping. According to information received from The world is online It indicates that people with dementia have difficulty resting in the evening or even getting around at night. According to scientific findings, dementia can also be predicted years in advance based on symptoms that appear during sleep. Daytime sleepiness can also be an early symptom of dementia. However, as the results of one study show, sleep disturbances in people with dementia can be improved with a simple action: turning on a lamp.

Dementia: Simple measures in daily life can help treat Alzheimer's disease

It was published in the specialized magazine One plus Back Review paper Researchers from Weifang Medical University of China evaluated 15 studies in which about 600 dementia patients were repeatedly brought into a daylight environment using special lamps. In neurodegenerative disease, nerve cells and their connections in the brain die. The consequences of this include, among other things, cognitive damage and impairment of the sleep center in the brain. Typically, this sets the internal clock to a 24-hour rhythm and uses daylight to control wake phases and sleep times. As for people with dementia, a weak sleep center blurs the difference between day and night, for example, with brain damage exacerbating these problems.

The meta-study showed that light therapy achieved measurable effects and had positive effects on sleep habits. Patients treated with light slept less during the day and woke up less at night. As a result, they had more restful sleep overall. At the same time, their wake-sleep rhythm also improved, so that after a while they became tired at a similar time every day and woke up at the same time. Phototherapy is thought to stimulate nerve cells under attack in dementia patients, which may then regenerate to some extent.

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Dementia: Light therapy can lead to cognitive improvements

The regeneration was not only evident in the sleep center area: according to the analysis, some patients also experienced cognitive improvements. In addition, some sufferers have experienced relief from mood disturbances (aggression or lethargy), which can also be typical of dementia. According to scientists, photodynamic therapies “have the potential to be a promising treatment option.”