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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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Light May Slow Dementia

Brighter environs cut depression in research hailed as 'spectacular'

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(Newser) – Brighter daytime lighting can significantly soften dementia symptoms, according to a Dutch study that found better moods and sleep patterns correlated with brighter environs. Combined with extra doses of the hormone melatonin, lighting slowed onset of symptoms by up to 5%, which “may not sound like a huge amount,” one researcher said, but “it could represent 6 months" of extra time in a patient's own home.

Slowing dementia with brighter lighting could mean an extra 6 months for patients in their own home, scientists say.
Slowing dementia with brighter lighting could mean an extra 6 months for patients in their own home, scientists say.   (KRT Photos)
"Light therapy is completely non-invasive, and melatonin is a very gentle drug," one scientist said of "spectacular" research that shows brighter environs slow dementia.   (Shutterstock)
A woman sits near a window in this file photo.
A woman sits near a window in this file photo.   (Magnum Photos)
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