Nursing Home Lighting Research

Yu Jiang, Qinghua Xia, Jie Wang, Peng Zhou, Shuo Jiang, Vinod K. Diwan, and Biao Xu
Falls are leading cause of injury among older people, especially for those living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Very few studies have assessed the effect of sleep quality and hypnotics use on falls, especially in Chinese LTCFs. The study aimed to examine the association between sleep quality, hypnotics use, and falls in institutionalized older people.

Hopkins S, Morgan PL, Schlangen LJM, Williams P, Skene DJ, Middleton B.
OBJECTIVE: Environmental (little outdoor light; low indoor lighting) and age-related physiological factors (reduced light transmission through the ocular lens, reduced mobility) contribute to a light-deprived environment for older people living in care homes.

Mariana G Figueiro, Barbara A Plitnick, Anna Lok, Geoffrey E Jones, Patricia Higgins, Thomas R Hornick, and Mark S Rea
Light therapy has shown great promise as a nonpharmacological method to improve symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), with preliminary studies demonstrating that appropriately timed light exposure can improve nighttime sleep efficiency, reduce nocturnal wandering, and alleviate evening agitation.

Rixt F. Riemersma-van der Lek, MD, Dick F. Swaab, MD, PhD, Jos Twisk, PhD, Elly M. Hol, PhD, Witte J. G. Hoogendijk, MD, PhD, Eus J. W. Van Someren, PhD
Cognitive decline, mood, behavioral and sleep disturbances, and limitations of activities of daily living commonly burden elderly patients with dementia and their caregivers. Circadian rhythm disturbances have been associated with these symptoms.

Antoine U Viola, PhD, Lynette M James, Luc JM Schlangen, PhD, Derk-Jan Dijk, PhD
Objectives Specifications and standards for lighting installations in occupational settings are based on the spectral sensitivity of the classical visual system and do not take into account the recently discovered sensitivity of workers to blue light.

Michelle Maclean, Scott J. MacGregor, John G. Anderson & Gerry Woolsey
This study was conducted to investigate the bactericidal effects of visible light on methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and subsequently identify the wavelength sensitivity of S. aureus, in order to establish the wavelengths inducing maximum inactivation.