Light therapy for the treatment of delayed sleep-wake phase disorder in adults: a systematic review
Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD) is characterized by sleep onset times, beyond the usual schedules and social conveniences, which potentially impacts on health as well as on school and professional performance. The most common treatment for DSWPD is the light adminis...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Sleep Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sleepscience.org.br/export-pdf/3000/v14n2a09.pdf |
| Summary: | Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD) is characterized by sleep onset times, beyond the
usual schedules and social conveniences, which potentially impacts on health as well as on school
and professional performance. The most common treatment for DSWPD is the light administration
(light therapy), through light devices, with or without behavioral instructions. Since there is no
consensus in the literature about its efficacy and how it should be processed, this study aims to
evaluate the light therapy effectiveness in the delayed sleep-wake phase disorder therapeutics. A
systematic review was conducted using the MEDLINE/PubMed, Virtual Health Library Brazil,
PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus databases along with a hand search until September
2020. The included studies presented participants diagnosed with insomnia or DSWPD, over
18-years old, treated only with morning light therapy, mentioning the light intensity (lux) used, and
investigations with a control group. Studies reporting individuals with neurological or psychiatric
disorders, shift-workers, or evaluating other sleep disorders were excluded. Among the 411 studies
identified, five were selected for this review, resulting in a total sample of 140 individuals. Only two
studies produced long-term results, showing that the benefits did not persist. In most studies, there
were no statistically significant differences in the variables when comparing the intervention group
and the control group. However, there were substantial clinical and laboratory advances in the sleep
phase using light therapy when comparing phase advances for the same group concerning baseline
values of sleep variables. |
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| ISSN: | 1984-0659 1984-0063 |