Daily Morning Blue Light Therapy Improves Daytime Sleepiness, Sleep Quality, and Quality of Life Following a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether 6 weeks of daily morning blue light therapy could improve sleep disruption and related symptoms in adults with mild traumatic brain injury compared to placebo amber light therapy.
Results Summary
Blue light therapy showed moderate to large improvements in daytime sleepiness, depression severity, post-concussion symptoms, and sleep measures (e.g., total sleep time, wake after sleep onset) compared to amber light therapy. Functional sleep outcomes also significantly improved in the blue light group.
Population
Adults aged 18-45 with mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months (n=35).
Effective Dosage
30-minute daily sessions.
Duration
6 weeks.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 weeks of daily 30-minute sessions of morning blue light therapy | decrease | Epworth Sleepiness Scale | Adults aged 18 to 45 years with a mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months | Hedges' g = 0.882 | moderate to large improvements were observed | #1 |
6 weeks of daily 30-minute sessions of morning blue light therapy | decrease | Beck Depression Inventory II | Adults aged 18 to 45 years with a mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months | g = 0.684 | moderate to large improvements were observed | #2 |
6 weeks of daily 30-minute sessions of morning blue light therapy | decrease | Rivermead Post-concussion Symptom Questionnaire chronic symptoms | Adults aged 18 to 45 years with a mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months | g = 0.611 | moderate to large improvements were observed | #3 |
6 weeks of daily 30-minute sessions of morning blue light therapy | decrease | Rivermead Post-concussion Symptom Questionnaire somatic symptoms | Adults aged 18 to 45 years with a mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months | g = 0.597 | moderate to large improvements were observed | #4 |
6 weeks of daily 30-minute sessions of morning blue light therapy | decrease | normalized wake after sleep onset | Adults aged 18 to 45 years with a mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months | g = 0.667 | experiencing lower | #5 |
6 weeks of daily 30-minute sessions of morning blue light therapy | increase | total sleep time | Adults aged 18 to 45 years with a mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months | g = 0.529 | experienced greater | #6 |
6 weeks of daily 30-minute sessions of morning blue light therapy | increase | Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire scores | Adults aged 18 to 45 years with a mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months | g = 0.929 | reported improved | #7 |
OBJECTIVE: Identify the treatment effects of 6 weeks of daily 30-minute sessions of morning blue light therapy compared with placebo amber light therapy in the treatment of sleep disruption following mild traumatic brain injury. DESIGN: Placebo-controlled randomized trial. PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 18 to 45 years with a mild traumatic brain injury within the past 18 months (n = 35). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Beck Depression Inventory II, Rivermead Post-concussion Symptom Questionnaire, Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire, and actigraphy-derived sleep measures. RESULTS: Following treatment, moderate to large improvements were observed with individuals in the blue light therapy group reporting lower Epworth Sleepiness Scale (Hedges' g = 0.882), Beck Depression Inventory II (g = 0.684), Rivermead Post-concussion Symptom Questionnaire chronic (g = 0.611), and somatic (g = 0.597) symptoms, and experiencing lower normalized wake after sleep onset (g = 0.667) than those in the amber light therapy group. In addition, individuals in the blue light therapy group experienced greater total sleep time (g = 0.529) and reported improved Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire scores (g = 0.929) than those in the amber light therapy group. CONCLUSION: Daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and sleep disruption are common following a mild traumatic brain injury. These findings further substantiate blue light therapy as a promising nonpharmacological approach to improve these sleep-related complaints with the added benefit of improved postconcussion symptoms and depression severity.