Promoting cognitive resilience and reducing frailty in older Veterans with bright light therapy

强光疗法对老年退伍军人认知功能的促进作用 脆弱是一种多因素综合征，其特征是易受压力因素的影响而增加。 残疾和死亡风险。65岁或以上的退伍军人中有30%身体虚弱，这一比例是 高于年龄匹配的非退伍军人。脆弱与认知障碍有着错综复杂的联系 退伍军人尤其容易受到影响，14%的退伍军人表现出认知能力下降，有些人起病早 年仅45岁。重要的是，70%的虚弱和认知受损的老年人表现出睡眠 干扰，这使得识别和改善睡眠质量成为一种有吸引力的治疗策略 增强健康寿命。此外，这一点特别令人感兴趣，因为55%的老年退伍军人经历过睡眠 骚乱。这项研究的目的是检验使用强光疗法(Blt)的可行性。 作为一种通过减少昼夜节律紊乱来改善睡眠的策略。长期目标是 评估老年退伍军人改善认知和减少虚弱的潜力。BLT的工作方式 通过短暂暴露于特定波长的光来重新同步下丘脑生物钟 觉醒后，恢复褪黑激素和昼夜节律。然而，BLT还没有被 检查以降低老年退伍军人的虚弱程度。因此，该项目将奠定基础 对于更大规模的试验，评估BLT在治疗和预防认知障碍方面的作用，并促进 健康的衰老。

Promoting cognition and reducing frailty in older Veterans with bright light therapy Frailty is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by vulnerability to stressors that increases disability and mortality risk. Thirty percent of Veterans 65 years or older are frail, which is three-times higher than aged matched non-Veterans. Frailty is intricately linked with cognitive impairment and Veterans are particularly susceptible with 14 percent exhibiting cognitive decline, some with early onset as young as 45 years of age. Importantly, 70% of frail and cognitively impaired older adults exhibit sleep disturbances, which makes identifying and improving sleep quality an attractive therapeutic strategy to enhance healthspan. Furthermore, this is of special interest as 55% of older Veterans experience sleep disturbances. The goal of this study is to examine the feasibility of utilizing bright light therapy (BLT) as a strategy to improve sleep via reduction of circadian rhythm disturbances. The long-term goal is to assess the potential for improving cognition and reducing frailty in older Veterans. BLT works by resynchronizing the hypothalamic biological clock via brief exposure to specific wavelengths of light following awakening, which restores melatonin and circadian rhythms. However, BLT has not been examined for reducing frailty in older Veteran populations. This project will therefore lay the foundation for larger trials the evaluate BLT in the treatment and prevention of cognitive disorders and to promote healthy aging.