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" Bright light may improve dementia symptoms A daily dose of bright light therapy may bring about modest improvements in dementia symptoms, scientists believe. Researchers at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences studied the effects of daily supplementation of bright light - sometimes alongside the hormone melatonin - in 189 elderly people with an average age of 85.8 years. Treatment was administered for up to 3.5 years, with ceiling-mounted lights switched on every day between the hours of 09:00 and 18:00. The researchers, whose findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that bright light therapy reduced deterioration of thinking, learning and memory skills by five per cent. Depressive symptoms were typically reduced by 19 per cent, and the gradual increase in functional limitations was reduced by 53 per cent, on average. Melatonin was also found to benefit dementia patients, helping them to fall asleep more quickly and improving the length of time they slept for. The researchers concluded that long-term bright light therapy &amp;#039;could be considered for use in care facilities for elderly individuals with dementia&amp;#039;. \u00A9 Adfero Ltd "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a16782/bright-light-may-improve-dementia-symptoms/>