Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders

Treatments

Photic Treatment

Summary of Treatment: Also known as bright light therapy, photic treatment is an intervention that influences the body’s internal clock through exposure to bright light. Light is a powerful influencer of circadian rhythms, with its capacity to shift and change the circadian phase depending on timing, intensity, duration, and spectral properties. Specific light wavelengths, such as blue light (470 nm peak), have shown enhanced efficacy in advancing melatonin secretion and wake times without significantly affecting sleep onset times (Esaki et al., 2016). While wearing blue light-blocking glasses from 9:00 PM to bedtime every evening for 2 weeks, sleep onset was advanced by 132 min after treatment. For individuals who have difficulty going to sleep, this intervention enhances the endogenous production of melatonin, encouraging their natural sleep time to occur sooner rather than at their delayed times. 

• Reference: Esaki, Y., Kitajima, T., Ito, Y., Koike, S., Nakao, Y., Tsuchiya, A., Hirose, M., & Iwata, N. (2016). Wearing blue light-blocking glasses in the evening advances circadian rhythms in patients with delayed sleep phase disorder: An open-label trial. Chronobiology International, 33(8), 1037–1044. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2016.1194289
• Submitted by: Luke Avritt