Academic Journal
Blue light therapy delivered through light glasses improves sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in Parkinson's disease: A randomized trial.
| Τίτλος: | Blue light therapy delivered through light glasses improves sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in Parkinson's disease: A randomized trial. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Śmiłowska K; Department of Neurology, Centre of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.; Department of Neurology, 5th Regional Hospital, Sosnowiec, Poland.; Research Center for Public Policy and Regulatory Governance, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland., de Vries NM; Department of Neurology, Centre of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.; Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands., Bloem BR; Department of Neurology, Centre of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands., van Wamelen DJ; Department of Neurology, Centre of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.; Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.; King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. |
| Πηγή: | Journal of Parkinson's disease [J Parkinsons Dis] 2026 Sep; Vol. 16 (6), pp. 1201-1210. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 06. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: IOS Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101567362 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1877-718X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 18777171 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Parkinsons Dis Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Amsterdam : IOS Press |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Disorders of Excessive Somnolence*/etiology , Disorders of Excessive Somnolence*/therapy , Parkinson Disease*/complications , Parkinson Disease*/therapy , Phototherapy*/methods , Phototherapy*/instrumentation , Sleep Wake Disorders*/etiology , Sleep Wake Disorders*/therapy , Blue Light* , Sleep Quality*, Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pilot Projects ; Red Light ; Single-Blind Method ; Sleepiness |
| Περίληψη: | BackgroundSleep disturbances, including excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and fragmented nocturnal sleep, are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and significantly reduce quality of life. This pilot study evaluated the efficacy of a novel approach using blue light, delivered via dedicated glasses with integrated LED lights, to improve sleep and non-motor symptoms.MethodsRandomised, placebo-controlled, single-blind pilot study with a 2-week light intervention. Participants were assessed at baseline, two weeks, and five weeks. The study was designed to evaluate between- and within-group changes. Participants were randomly allocated to receive blue light therapy (n = 15) or red light placebo (n = 15), delivered via LED-integrated glasses for one hour, twice daily, given for a 2-week period. Primary outcome was improvement in sleep quality, assessed via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Secondary outcomes included diary-based sleep outcomes, excessive daytime sleepiness, mood, anxiety, and motor symptoms.ResultsThere was a significant group × time effect with blue light therapy leading to better Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores (p = 0.021). Between-group analyses showed that at two weeks a trend toward significance was observed (p = 0.065), while sleep quality significantly improved at five weeks compared to placebo (p = 0.029) with a large effect size (0.896). Excessive sleepiness improved in the blue light group (p < 0.001), with a reduction in clinically relevant sleepiness from 50.0% to 6.7% (p = 0.005).ConclusionsBlue light therapy delivered through dedicated glasses appeared to show an improvement in sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in individuals with PD. Blue light therapy offers a promising alternative to traditional light therapy utilising lower light intensities and eliminating the need for light boxes. |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Parkinson's disease; circadian; daytime sleepiness; depression; light therapy; sleep Local Abstract: [plain-language-summary] Blue light glasses may help people with Parkinson's sleep better and feel less sleepy during the day: results from a randomized study.Sleep problems are very common in people with Parkinson's disease. Many experience difficulty staying asleep at night and feel very sleepy during the day. These problems can greatly affect daily functioning, mood, and overall quality of life. Light therapy is sometimes used to help regulate sleep patterns, but traditional devices can be inconvenient because they require sitting in front of a bright light box.This study tested a new approach: using special glasses that shine blue light from small LED lights built into the frame. The aim was to see whether wearing these glasses for one hour, twice a day, could improve sleep and daytime sleepiness in people with Parkinson's disease. The study compared blue light glasses with red light glasses, which served as a placebo. Participants used the glasses for two weeks and were assessed at the start of the study, after two weeks, and again after five weeks.The results showed that people who used the blue light glasses slept better than those using the red light glasses. Sleep quality continued to improve even after the light sessions had ended. Daytime sleepiness also improved significantly: the proportion of participants with clinically significant sleepiness fell from 50% to just 7% after using blue light.These findings suggest that blue light therapy delivered through wearable glasses may offer a practical, low-intensity alternative to standard light therapy. Although this was a small pilot study, the results are promising and support further research to better understand who might benefit most and how blue light therapy can be used in everyday life to support people with Parkinson's disease. |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260806 Date Completed: 20260907 Latest Revision: 20260911 |
| Update Code: | 20260912 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13447595 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1877718X261468544 |
| PMID: | 42558005 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1877-718X |
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| DOI: | 10.1177/1877718X261468544 |