Chronotherapy, a personalized behavioral medicine program, was found to improve sleep quality in people with mild cognitive impairments (MCIs) according to a recent study. The study tested chronotherapy on nearly 100 adults aged 65-85 who were randomly assigned to either receive chronotherapy and bright light therapy or general health education. After 12 weeks, those receiving chronotherapy maintained consistent sleep quality while the control group saw declines. Both groups had similar sleep quality by 24 weeks but the chronotherapy group reported subjective improvements in sleep quality, efficiency, and fragmentation at 12 and 24 weeks.

1. Chronotherapy Found to Improve
Sleep Quality in People with MCIs
By: Ryan Novaczyk

2. Chronotherapy Found to Improve Sleep Quality in
People with MCIs
The CFO and president of New Perspective Senior Living, Ryan Novaczyk has been working in the
field of older adult care for more than 10 years. During that time, Ryan Novaczyk has become
familiar with a wide range of medical conditions affecting older populations, including mild cognitive
impairment (MCI).

3. Chronotherapy Found to Improve Sleep Quality in
People with MCIs
A recent study presented at the 2019 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC)
noted that chronotherapy, a personalized behavioral medicine program, was capable of improving
sleep quality among adults with MCIs. The study was built off previous research that linked poor
sleep with a high risk of dementia and MCI among older adults. Prior research also found that
people with MCIs experience sleep disturbances more often than their peers without this condition.

4. Chronotherapy Found to Improve Sleep Quality in
People with MCIs
To test the effectiveness of chronotherapy, researchers completed a randomized, controlled trial of
nearly 100 adults between the ages of 65 and 85. Half of this group was assigned to receive
chronotherapy for 4 weeks, followed by “bright light” therapy for 20 weeks. During that time, they
also completed a physical activity counseling call every 2 weeks and tracked their activity via a
consumer-available tracker. The second half of the group received general health education and
the standard sleep quality care.

5. Chronotherapy Found to Improve Sleep Quality in
People with MCIs
After 12 weeks, the group receiving standard care saw a decline in sleep quality, while the group
receiving chronotherapy maintained a consistent level of sleep quality compared to their baseline.
At 24 weeks, sleep quality between both groups were the same. However, participants in the
intervention group reported improvements in their subjective sleep quality at both the 12- and 24-
week follow-ups. Members of this group also displayed improvements in sleep efficiency and sleep
fragmentation.