Lighting for Older Adults
Thu, Apr 11
|Virtual Event
The spectral quality of lighting in buildings has a significant impact on the regulation of human biological clocks. As people age, they experience progressive neurodegeneration, which affects their visual and non-visual performances.
Time & Location
Apr 11, 2024, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. EDT
Virtual Event
About the event
Abstract
The spectral quality of lighting in buildings has a significant impact on the regulation of human biological clocks. As people age, they experience progressive neurodegeneration, which affects their visual and non-visual performances. While good lighting quality is essential for everyone, older people particularly need well-designed lighting to promote sleep quality, hormonal control, and mood regulation. This is because older adults often spend a significant amount of time indoors, deprived of beneficial natural light.
This talk will focus on the effects of lighting quality on sleep, activity, cognitive decline, hormonal control, and mood regulation for older people, with a specific emphasis on Alzheimer's and related dementia. By using circadian lights, we can significantly improve the quality of life of older adults and even offer non-pharmacological intervention for specific diseases.
A fragmented sleep-activity cycle increases the risk of nighttime falls among dementia patients, with as many as 85% of them experiencing…