Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskundeNov 26, 2008

Light treatment may help symptoms in dementia, but melatonin probably does not

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗

Updated Mar 25, 2026

Abstract

Long-term daily treatment with bright light may improve some cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms in elderly dementia patients.

Bright light treatment showed a modest benefit in cognition and mood among dementia patients.
The addition of melatonin (2.5 mg daily) produced negligible effects.
Small effects observed align with trends from other studies on bright light's impact on dementia.
Non-pharmacological interventions, such as increasing light intensity, are suggested as alternatives to current medications with limited efficacy and potential risks.

Simplified

A recent study in the JAMA described the effects of long-term daily treatment with whole-day bright light in elderly patients with dementia, with or without the addition of melatonin (2.5 mg daily), on cognition, mood, behavioural symptoms, activities of daily living and sleep. It was concluded that light has a modest benefit in improving some cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms of dementia. The effects of melatonin were negligible. Despite the small effects found of this study, the outcomes can be used in clinical practice since other small studies also show a trend towards positive effects of bright light in dementia patients. Since current pharmacotherapy for behavioural problems in dementia has very modest effects at the risk of serious adverse effects, non-pharmacological interventions must be encouraged. Increasing light intensity in the living rooms of patients with dementia is an easy and cheap intervention with possible positive effects on at least some patients.

Light treatment may help symptoms in dementia, but melatonin probably does not

Abstract

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