A study to evaluate whether light therapy can help people with dementia to sleep better

Disturbances of Sleep in Dementia (DOSID): a pilot randomized controlled cross-over trial to evaluate the efficacy and explore the mechanisms of bright full spectrum light as a therapy for sleep disturbances in people with dementia

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN30488204

Enrollment

Registered

2016-01-11

Start date

2015-12-07

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2019-03-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Irregular sleep wake disturbance in people with dementia Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

We will evaluate the efficacy of a full spectrum bright light box (~10,000 Lux

~460nm) as a therapy for sleep disturbances within a cohort of community dwelling people with dementia by means of a randomised, controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial with two treatments: active

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Alzheimer's type dementia 2. Irregular sleep wake pattern

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. 'Severe' dementia 2. Sleep apnoea 3. Eye disease 4. Abnormal visual acuity 5. Parkinson's disease 6. Restless leg syndrome 7. Periodic limb movement 8. History of light-induced migraine or epilepsy 9. Using photosensitising medication 10. Trans-meridian travel or shift work 11. Bipolar affective disorder

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Sleep behaviour (actigraphy), measured at Baseline, Week 3, Week 6 (Baseline 2), Week 9 *This study is a cross-over trial, so has two baseline assessments.	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Dim Light Melatonin Onset (saliva) 2. Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) 3. Mini-Mental State Evaluation (MMSE) 4. Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire (LSEQ) 5. Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI) Measured at Baseline, Week 3, Week 6 (Baseline 2), Week 9 *This study is a cross-over trial, so has two baseline assessments.	—

Countries

United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactDavid Lowery

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026