The Effect of the Bright White Light Application to Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Care on Their Fatigue Level and Sleep Quality: A Randomized Control Trial

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effect of bright white light on the fatigue level and sleep quality of cancer patients receiving palliative care. The study sample consisted of 52 patients who met the inclusion criteria and were assigned to the study or control group by stratified randomization. The bright white light (10,000 lux) or dim red light (<50 lux) was applied for 30 minutes every morning for 14 days to the patients in the study and control group. In the study, bright white light significantly decreased the level of fatigue and the level of fatigue-related effect on daily life activities, improved sleep quality and increased total sleep time ( p < 0.05). It was found that dim red light significantly decreased the level of fatigue and increased the sleep quality, but this change was lower than the study group ( p < 0.05).

The effect of light therapy on sleep quality in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…These studies included a total of 451 participants, with 234 in the intervention group and 217 in the control group. Of these, five were conducted in the US ( 24 , 30 , 31 , 39 , 40 ), two in Turkey ( 41 , 42 ), one in Canada ( 43 ), and another one in the Netherlands ( 44 ). The average age of the participants in these studies was 55.32 years.…”

“…Participants in five RCTs were patients with specific types of cancers including breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian, endometrial cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) ( 31 , 39–41 , 44 ). The rest included patients with nonspecific cancers ( 24 , 30 , 42 , 43 ). These participants had previously received basic treatment such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.…”

“…The second most common bias noted was the detection bias which related to the blinding of the outcome assessment. Nearly half of these studies (four of the nine) had been identified with an issue of blinded outcome assessment ( 30 , 39 , 41 , 42 ). Three studies were found to have a problem of attrition with incomplete outcome assessments ( 30 , 41 , 43 ).…”

“…Nine studies were included in the meta-analysis reporting PSQI as the primary outcome (24,30,31,(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44). The results revealed that the average PSQI scores of the light therapy group were significantly lower than that of the control group (SMD = −0.72; 95% CI: −1.24 to −0.21; p = 0.006), suggesting light therapy might improve the overall sleep quality in cancer patients.…”

“…Six studies were included in the meta-analysis reporting total sleep time (30,31,40,(42)(43)(44). The pooled results showed that there were no significant differences between groups (SMD = 0.04; 95% CI: −0.20 to 0.29; p = 0.72), with insignificant heterogeneity issues (p = 0.32; I 2 = 14%).…”