The Effect of Bright Light Therapy on Sleep and Quality of Life in Patients With Poststroke Insomnia

Abstract

Objective: Poststroke insomnia is common and negatively affects stroke recovery. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of bright light therapy for mild-to-moderate stroke patients with insomnia. Methods: This study was randomized, double blind, and placebo controlled. A 2-week trial was conducted on patients with mild-tomoderate stroke who had poststroke insomnia. Only patients who had experienced a first episode of stroke were enrolled in this study. Sleep parameters were measured using the Actiwatch Spectrum Pro for 7 days before and after light therapy. The instrument specifically collected data concerning sleep, mood state, fatigue, and subjective quality of life. Participants with poststroke insomnia received bright light therapy (10,000 lux) or placebo therapy for 30 minutes in the early morning. A total of 112 eligible participants entered the study, but only 56 patients were randomized to treatment (27 to bright light therapy and 29 to placebo therapy). Results: Results from analysis of variance showed that the mean change of sleep latency (F(1,55) =4.793, p = .033) and sleep efficiency (F (1,55) = 5.625, p = .022) were significantly superior in bright light therapy over placebo. Bright light therapy resulted in significant improvements in daytime sleepiness, fatigue, mood, and quality of life in study participants ( p < .05). Conclusions: Bright light therapy is a nonpharmacological treatment of early, poststroke insomnia in patients who had a mild to moderate stroke. In addition, bright light therapy is effective for the treatment of daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and depression and for improving quality of life in patients with poststroke insomnia. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04721574.

Efficacy and safety evaluation of bright light therapy in patients with post-stroke insomnia

“…Given the side effects and the high cost of drug treatments for PSI, pharmacological therapy still needs to be improved [11,12] . Meanwhile, many limitations still affect the interventions of education on sleep hygiene and exercise [16] . Therefore, it is crucial to improve the treatment modalities for PSI patients, and clinicians need to adopt more aggressive treatment for PSI patients.…”

“…[12,17] The effects of BLT are crucial in promoting serotonin secretion and inhibits melatonin secretion, which has beneficial effects on sleep quality. [11,16] BLT has been shown in prior researches to improve the quality of sleep in stroke patients. [16][17][18][19] To date, however, there has not been a systematic review of the efficacy and safety of BLT for PSI, and the evidence of BLT for PSI is unclear and need to be further studied.…”

“…[11,16] BLT has been shown in prior researches to improve the quality of sleep in stroke patients. [16][17][18][19] To date, however, there has not been a systematic review of the efficacy and safety of BLT for PSI, and the evidence of BLT for PSI is unclear and need to be further studied. Hence, the objective of this study is to perform the study to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of BLT for PSI, and provide a valuable basis of BLT for PSI.…”

“…On the contrary, PSI patients usually present motor and cognitive impairment and insomnia has long been treated with nonpharmacological methods [15] . Although nonpharmacological intervention such as education on sleep hygiene and exercise is recommended for PSI patients, these treatments can be burdensome for some PSI patients [11,16] . Therefore, it is necessary to explore new therapeutic modalities that are safe, effective, and simple for PSI patients.…”

Thyroid Function Affects the Risk of Post-stroke Depression in Patients With Acute Lacunar Stroke

“…Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide ( 1 – 3 ). Most survivors are vulnerable to neuropsychological complications, including depression ( 4 ), anxiety ( 5 ), fatigue ( 6 , 7 ), dementia ( 8 ), apathy ( 9 ), and insomnia ( 10 ). Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most common subtype and commonly refers to a depressive state after stroke onset ( 11 ).…”