42 minutes of bright daylight linked to lower dementia risk

Summarised from HuffPost UK's report · Updated 20 Oct, 12:02 · Archive

Getting at least 42 minutes of bright daylight daily appears linked to 17% lower dementia risk, a study suggests.

A study published in General Psychiatry tracked 87,577 people wearing wristwatches with light sensors over approximately eight years. During this period, 741 participants developed dementia, none of whom had the condition at the study's start.

Researchers found that those receiving at least 42 minutes daily of bright light (over 1000 lux – roughly the brightness of a cloudy sky, much brighter than typical indoor lighting at around 500 lux) had 17% lower dementia risk. The longer people spent in bright outdoor light during the day, the lower their dementia risk appeared to be. Night owls, people carrying the dementia-linked APOE4 gene, and those exposed to more nighttime light seemed to benefit more from daytime bright light exposure.

In further analysis, researchers found that getting less than 42 minutes of daylight daily appeared a stronger predictor of dementia than obesity, alcohol consumption, or traumatic brain injury.

Read the report

• The 42-Minute Daytime Habit Linked To Lower Dementia RiskWe already know that some sleep patterns and changes seem to be linked to dementia, though it can be hard to work out in which way the relationship lies: maybe it’s a symptom of the condition, or maybe it increases risk. It could be a mix of both. But a new study has found that a daytime factor could play a role in our likelihood of developing dementia, too. According to a paper published in General Psychiatry , our daytime light exposure might matter, too. Bright daytime light appears to be linked with lower dementia risk Researchers looked at the amount of light 87,577 participants – who…HuffPost UK · 20 Oct, 11:35

In this story: General Psychiatry · APOE4

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