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Night-time activity forecast by season and weather in a longitudinal design – natural light effects on three years’ rest-activity cycles in nursing home residents with dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2017

Amely Wahnschaffe ,
Claudia Nowozin ,
Andreas Rath ,
Theresa Floessner ,
Stefan Appelhoff ,
Mirjam Münch  and
Dieter Kunz
Amely Wahnschaffe*
Affiliation:
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Sleep Research & Clinical Chronobiology, Institute of Physiology, Berlin, Germany St. Hedwig-Hospital, Clinic for Sleep and Chronomedicine, Berlin, Germany
Claudia Nowozin
Affiliation:
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Sleep Research & Clinical Chronobiology, Institute of Physiology, Berlin, Germany St. Hedwig-Hospital, Clinic for Sleep and Chronomedicine, Berlin, Germany
Andreas Rath
Affiliation:
SplittFennert Nursing Home, Berlin, Germany
Theresa Floessner
Affiliation:
University of Groningen, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Chronobiology Unit, Groningen, The Netherlands
Stefan Appelhoff
Affiliation:
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Sleep Research & Clinical Chronobiology, Institute of Physiology, Berlin, Germany St. Hedwig-Hospital, Clinic for Sleep and Chronomedicine, Berlin, Germany
Mirjam Münch
Affiliation:
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Sleep Research & Clinical Chronobiology, Institute of Physiology, Berlin, Germany St. Hedwig-Hospital, Clinic for Sleep and Chronomedicine, Berlin, Germany
Dieter Kunz
Affiliation:
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Sleep Research & Clinical Chronobiology, Institute of Physiology, Berlin, Germany St. Hedwig-Hospital, Clinic for Sleep and Chronomedicine, Berlin, Germany
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr rer. medic. Amely Wahnschaffe, Research Group: Sleep & Clinical Chronobiology, Institute of Physiology (CBF), Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Grosse Hamburger Strasse 5–11, 10115 Berlin, Germany. Phone: +49 30 23112901; Fax: +49 30 23112903. Email: amely.wahnschaffe@gmx.de.
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Abstract

Backround:

Night-time agitation is a frequent symptom of dementia. It often causes nursing home admission and has been linked to circadian rhythm disturbances. A positive influence of light interventions on night-time agitation was shown in several studies. The aim of our study was to investigate whether there is a long-term association between regional weather data (as indicator for daylight availability) and 24-hour variations of motor activity.

Methods:

Motor activity of 20 elderly nursing home residents living with dementia was analyzed using recordings of continuously worn wrist activity monitors over a three-year period. The average recording duration was 479 ± 206 days per participant (mean ± SD). Regional cloud amount and day length data from the local weather station (latitude: 52°56′N) were included in the analysis to investigate their effects on several activity variables.

Results:

Nocturnal rest, here defined as the five consecutive hours with the least motor activity during 24 hours (L5), was the most predictable activity variable per participant. There was a significant interaction of night-time activity with day length and cloud amount (F1,1174 = 4.39; p = 0.036). Night-time activity was higher on cloudy short days than on clear short days (p = 0.007), and it was also higher on cloudy short days than on cloudy long days (p = 0.032).

Conclusions:

The need for sufficient zeitgeber (time cue) strength during winter time, especially when days are short and skies are cloudy, is crucial for elderly people living with dementia. Activity forecast by season and weather might be a valuable approach to anticipate adequately complementary use of electrical light and thereby foster lower night-time activity.

Keywords

rest-activity cycleagitationdementialightseasonweathercircadian
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 29 , Issue 12 , December 2017 , pp. 2071 - 2080
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

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