how light therapy improve sleep in cancer patients?

Researchers have recently tracked the effects of a group of tired cancer survivors after receiving system light. Randomized controlled trials have shown that systemic light illumination can improve sleep in cancer patients. 

Subjects were randomly assigned to receive bright white light interventions or to dim red light, and each subject was provided with a standard light box that was required to use for 30 minutes each morning for four weeks. The wrist activity record and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were monitored at four time points during the study to assess the subject's sleep.

The results of the pilot study showed that the average sleep efficiency, ie the percentage of sleep time, in the group receiving the light therapy increased to a normal clinical level. The improvement in sleep quality of the light intervention intervention lasted for three weeks. In contrast, the average sleep efficiency of the dim light group remained at a lower level. Subjects who received light intervention had a moderate or higher effect on sleep quality, overall sleep time, and waking time after falling asleep.

The study was conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, and included 44 patients who had completed cancer treatment and met clinical fatigue criteria. The average age of the subjects was approximately 54 years, of which 75% were women.

Professor Lisa M. Wu said: “Systematic lighting with bright light is a low-cost, easy-to-propagate intervention that provides an effective alternative to improving the sleep of cancer survivors.”

The researchers point out that larger studies are needed to test the efficacy of systemic light therapy for sleep disorders in cancer patients.