Light Therapy for University Students
22 de junho de 2026 atualizado por: Birna Baldursdottir, Reykjavik University
Effects of Light Therapy on Well-being of University Students: A Pilot Study
The effects of light therapy on well-being among university students was investigated.
A three-week intervention study examined whether the use of light glasses improved sleep quality and concentration and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety among university students.
First, a questionnaire was administered to about 130 students to screen for sleep problems.
Based on the responses, those with the most sleep problems were invited to participate in the intervention study, which resulted in 39 participants in total.
Although studies of light therapy for sleep problems and depression among patients have yielded positive results, the use of light has not been studied much among healthy individuals.
The intervention study used glasses that project light in two intensities and participants were randomized into two groups with different intensities of light.
The aim of the study was to: a) compare the effects of different light intensities on sleep and concentration and b) investigate whether light therapy influences symptoms of depression and anxiety among university students.
The study is expected to increase knowledge of light therapy among healthy individuals, and if the treatment proves successful, it is an easy and inexpensive way to increase well-being among university students.
Visão geral do estudo
Status
Concluído
Condições
Intervenção / Tratamento
Tipo de estudo
Intervencional
Inscrição (Real)
39
Estágio
- Não aplicável
Contactos e Locais
Esta seção fornece os detalhes de contato para aqueles que conduzem o estudo e informações sobre onde este estudo está sendo realizado.
Locais de estudo
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Reykjavik, Islândia, 102
- Department of Psychology, Reykjavík University
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Critérios de participação
Os pesquisadores procuram pessoas que se encaixem em uma determinada descrição, chamada de critérios de elegibilidade. Alguns exemplos desses critérios são a condição geral de saúde de uma pessoa ou tratamentos anteriores.
Critérios de elegibilidade
Idades elegíveis para estudo
- Adulto
- Adulto mais velho
Aceita Voluntários Saudáveis
Não
Descrição
Inclusion Criteria:
- Being a psychology student at Reykjavik University, Iceland
- Able to understand, read and write Icelandic
- At screening assessment prior to the intervention, demonstrating a score of three or above on any of the six items of the BIS scale, thereby including students who showed even mild symptoms of sleep problems
Exclusion Criteria:
- Not being a psychology student at Reykjavik University, Iceland
- Not able to understand, read and write Icelandic
- Demonstrating a score below three on all of the six items of the BIS scale
Plano de estudo
Esta seção fornece detalhes do plano de estudo, incluindo como o estudo é projetado e o que o estudo está medindo.
Como o estudo é projetado?
Detalhes do projeto
- Finalidade Principal: Tratamento
- Alocação: Randomizado
- Modelo Intervencional: Atribuição Paralela
- Mascaramento: Dobro
Armas e Intervenções
Grupo de Participantes / Braço |
Intervenção / Tratamento |
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Experimental: Blue Light Therapy
Exposure of experimental circadian-effective blue light (BL) by glasses for 30 minutes each morning during the 3-week intervention
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The circadian-effective light glasses used by the experimental group (BL) emitted narrowband (peak lambda = 470 nm) blue light with an irradiance of 250 μW/cm2 (120 lux). The light glasses emit light from LEDs at a distance of 15 millimeters (15mm, 0.015.) from the eye. The device is classified as safe for the eyes in accordance with the international standard IEC 62471 and complies with the United States of America's FCC marking, and is designed to be worn on the participant's head, similar to a pair of regular glasses. For safety purposes, the light glasses do not contain UV or infra-red light. Brand: AYO glasses. |
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Comparador Ativo: Dim Light Therapy
Exposure of experimental comparison circadian-ineffective dim light (DL) by glasses for 30 minutes each morning during the 3-week intervention
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The circadian-ineffective sham glasses (DL) emitted blue light with an irradiance of 2.5 μW/cm2 (1.16 lux). The light glasses emit light from LEDs at a distance of 15 millimeters (15mm, 0.015.) from the eye. The device is classified as safe for the eyes in accordance with the international standard IEC 62471 and complies with the United States of America's FCC marking, and is designed to be worn on the participant's head, similar to a pair of regular glasses. For safety purposes, the light glasses do not contain UV or infra-red light. Brand: AYO glasses. |
O que o estudo está medindo?
Medidas de resultados primários
Medida de resultado |
Descrição da medida |
Prazo |
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The Bergen Insomnia Scale (BIS)
Prazo: BIS was used to screen for sleep-related problems, prior to the intervention, at baseline (day 1), at the middle of intervention (FU1, day 11) and at the of intervention (FU2, day 21).
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The Bergen Insomnia Scale (BIS) is a short scale on sleep habits consisting of six items pertaining to sleep onset, maintenance, early morning wakening, restorative sleep, daytime functioning, and sleep satisfaction.
Responses indicate how often sleep problems, according to the six items, are experienced during the last month on an 8-point scale (0-7 days per week) with a range between 0 and 42, where a higher score suggests more sleep problems.
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BIS was used to screen for sleep-related problems, prior to the intervention, at baseline (day 1), at the middle of intervention (FU1, day 11) and at the of intervention (FU2, day 21).
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The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Prazo: PSQI was administered at baseline (day 1), FU1 (day 11), and FU2 (day 21).
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The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) consists of 19 self-rated items about sleep habits during the last month.
The questions are categorised into seven components, rated from 0 to 3, evaluating sleep duration, quality, and latency as well as habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, usage of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction.
A global PSQI score, ranging from 0 to 21, is calculated by summarising the seven components' scores, where a higher global score indicates worse sleep quality and a score above five suggests poor sleep quality.
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PSQI was administered at baseline (day 1), FU1 (day 11), and FU2 (day 21).
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Objective sleep measure by actigraphy: Total time in bed
Prazo: Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Wrist-worn actigraphy devices (model GT3X+ ActiSleep) were used to objectively measure sleep.
Sleep parameters were calculated using the Cole-Kripke sleep algorithm in the ActiLife 6 data analysis software.
Parameter measured: Total time in bed, measured as minutes.
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Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Objective sleep measure by actigraphy: Total sleep time
Prazo: Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Wrist-worn actigraphy devices (model GT3X+ ActiSleep) were used to objectively measure sleep.
Sleep parameters were calculated using the Cole-Kripke sleep algorithm in the ActiLife 6 data analysis software.
Parameter measured: Total sleep time, measured as minutes.
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Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Objective sleep measure by actigraphy: Sleep latency
Prazo: Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Wrist-worn actigraphy devices (model GT3X+ ActiSleep) were used to objectively measure sleep.
Sleep parameters were calculated using the Cole-Kripke sleep algorithm in the ActiLife 6 data analysis software.
Parameter measured: Sleep latency, measured as minutes.
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Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Objective sleep measure by actigraphy: Wake after sleep onset
Prazo: Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Wrist-worn actigraphy devices (model GT3X+ ActiSleep) were used to objectively measure sleep.
Sleep parameters were calculated using the Cole-Kripke sleep algorithm in the ActiLife 6 data analysis software.
Parameter measured: Wake after sleep onset, measured as minutes.
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Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Objective sleep measure by actigraphy: Number of awakenings
Prazo: Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Wrist-worn actigraphy devices (model GT3X+ ActiSleep) were used to objectively measure sleep.
Sleep parameters were calculated using the Cole-Kripke sleep algorithm in the ActiLife 6 data analysis software.
Parameter measured: Number of awakenings, measured as number of awakenings per sleep period.
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Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Objective sleep measure by actigraphy: Sleep fragmentation index
Prazo: Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Wrist-worn actigraphy devices (model GT3X+ ActiSleep) were used to objectively measure sleep.
Sleep parameters were calculated using the Cole-Kripke sleep algorithm in the ActiLife 6 data analysis software.
Parameter measured: Sleep fragmentation index, measured as percentage.
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Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Objective sleep measure by actigraphy: Sleep movement index
Prazo: Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Wrist-worn actigraphy devices (model GT3X+ ActiSleep) were used to objectively measure sleep.
Sleep parameters were calculated using the Cole-Kripke sleep algorithm in the ActiLife 6 data analysis software.
Parameter measured: Sleep movement index, measured as events per hour.
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Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Objective sleep measure by actigraphy: Sleep efficiency
Prazo: Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Wrist-worn actigraphy devices (model GT3X+ ActiSleep) were used to objectively measure sleep.
Sleep parameters were calculated using the Cole-Kripke sleep algorithm in the ActiLife 6 data analysis software.
Parameter measured: Sleep efficiency, measured as percentage.
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Participants were asked to wear the devices on their non-dominant arm for four consecutive days, both at baseline (day 1-4) and at FU2 (day 18-21).
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Medidas de resultados secundários
Medida de resultado |
Descrição da medida |
Prazo |
|---|---|---|
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The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)
Prazo: CES-D was administered at baseline (day 1), FU1 (day 11) and FU2 (day 21).
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The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a 20 item self-report instrument, designed to measure common symptoms of depression that have occurred over the past week such as poor appetite, hopelessness, pessimism, and fatigue.
Response options range from 0 to 3 for each item.
Scores range from 0 to 60, with high scores indicating greater depressive symptoms.
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CES-D was administered at baseline (day 1), FU1 (day 11) and FU2 (day 21).
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General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)
Prazo: GAD-7 was administered at baseline (day 1), FU1 (day 11) and FU2 (day 21).
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General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) is a shorter version of the original GAD-13 item scale designed to measure anxiety.
Each of the seven questions is rated on a 4-point Likert scale based on symptom frequency.
The total score is calculated by summing the scores for all seven items, thus scores range from 0 to 21, with higer score meaning more anxiety.
Cut-points are as follows: 0-4: Minimal anxiety, 5-9: Mild anxiety, 10-14: Moderate anxiety, and 15-21: Severe anxiety.
A score of 10 or greater is often used as a clinical cut-off point.
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GAD-7 was administered at baseline (day 1), FU1 (day 11) and FU2 (day 21).
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The reduced Horne & Östberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ)
Prazo: rMEQ was administered at baseline (day 1).
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The reduced Horne & Östberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ) is a self-report questionnaire is one of the most widely used questionnaire to measure chronotype.
The rMEQ consists of 5 questions that assess an individual's preference for morning or evening activities.
Based on results from the scoring, individuals can be categorized as: Morning Types: Prefer morning activities; Evening Types: Prefer evening activities or Intermediate Types: Have no strong preference.
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rMEQ was administered at baseline (day 1).
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The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)
Prazo: ESS was administered at baseline (day 1), FU1 (day 11) and FU2 (day 21).
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The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is widely used in sleep research and clinical settings and consists of 8 questions (each with 4 answering possibilities) about sleepiness.
measure a person's likelihood of dozing off during various daily activities.
ESS provides a score ranging from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating excessive daytime sleepiness.
In general ESS scores can be interpreted as follows: 0-5 Lower Normal Daytime Sleepiness; 6-10 Higher Normal Daytime Sleepiness; 11-12 Mild Excessive Daytime Sleepiness; 13-15 Moderate Excessive Daytime Sleepiness; and 16-24 Severe Excessive Daytime Sleepiness.
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ESS was administered at baseline (day 1), FU1 (day 11) and FU2 (day 21).
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Objective measures of cognitive performance: Operation Span (Ospan)
Prazo: Ospan was administered at baseline (day 1) and FU2 (day 21).
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Three neuropsychological tests were used to measure cognitive performance: Operation Span (Ospan) is a cognitive task designed to measure working memory capacity by requiring participants to remember sequences of letters while simultaneously solving simple math problems.
This dual-task approach assesses how well individuals can manage their memory resources under distraction.
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Ospan was administered at baseline (day 1) and FU2 (day 21).
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Objective measures of cognitive performance: Digit span forward
Prazo: Digit span forward was administered at baseline (day 1) and FU2 (day 21).
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Three neuropsychological tests were used to measure cognitive performance: Digit span forward is a cognitive task where a person listens to a sequence of numbers and then repeats them back in the same order.
This task primarily measures short-term auditory memory and is commonly used in psychological assessments to evaluate working memory capacity.
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Digit span forward was administered at baseline (day 1) and FU2 (day 21).
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Objective measures of cognitive performance: Digit span backward
Prazo: Digit span backward was administered at baseline (day 1) and FU2 (day 21).
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Three neuropsychological tests were used to measure cognitive performance: Digit span backward is a cognitive task that measures short-term memory by requiring participants to recall a sequence of numbers in reverse order.
This task is more challenging than recalling the numbers in the original order, as it involves both storage and manipulation of the information.
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Digit span backward was administered at baseline (day 1) and FU2 (day 21).
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Colaboradores e Investigadores
É aqui que você encontrará pessoas e organizações envolvidas com este estudo.
Patrocinador
Colaboradores
Investigadores
- Investigador principal: Birna Baldursdottir, PhD, Reykjavík University, Iceland
Publicações e links úteis
A pessoa responsável por inserir informações sobre o estudo fornece voluntariamente essas publicações. Estes podem ser sobre qualquer coisa relacionada ao estudo.
Publicações Gerais
- Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4.
- Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.
- Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep. 1991 Dec;14(6):540-5. doi: 10.1093/sleep/14.6.540.
- Pallesen S, Bjorvatn B, Nordhus IH, Sivertsen B, Hjornevik M, Morin CM. A new scale for measuring insomnia: the Bergen Insomnia Scale. Percept Mot Skills. 2008 Dec;107(3):691-706. doi: 10.2466/pms.107.3.691-706.
- Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385-401. doi:10.1177/014662167700100306
- Danielsson K, Sakarya A, Jansson-Frojmark M. The reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire: Psychometric properties and related factors in a young Swedish population. Chronobiol Int. 2019 Apr;36(4):530-540. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2018.1564322. Epub 2019 Jan 7.
Datas de registro do estudo
Essas datas acompanham o progresso do registro do estudo e os envios de resumo dos resultados para ClinicalTrials.gov. Os registros do estudo e os resultados relatados são revisados pela National Library of Medicine (NLM) para garantir que atendam aos padrões específicos de controle de qualidade antes de serem publicados no site público.
Datas Principais do Estudo
Início do estudo (Real)
6 de março de 2019
Conclusão Primária (Real)
8 de abril de 2019
Conclusão do estudo (Real)
8 de abril de 2019
Datas de inscrição no estudo
Enviado pela primeira vez
29 de maio de 2026
Enviado pela primeira vez que atendeu aos critérios de CQ
15 de junho de 2026
Primeira postagem (Real)
22 de junho de 2026
Atualizações de registro de estudo
Última Atualização Postada (Real)
25 de junho de 2026
Última atualização enviada que atendeu aos critérios de controle de qualidade
22 de junho de 2026
Última verificação
1 de junho de 2026
Mais Informações
Termos relacionados a este estudo
Palavras-chave
Termos MeSH relevantes adicionais
Outros números de identificação do estudo
- VSN-19054
Plano para dados de participantes individuais (IPD)
Planeja compartilhar dados de participantes individuais (IPD)?
SIM
Descrição do plano IPD
IPD will be shared upon reasoned requests.
Informações sobre medicamentos e dispositivos, documentos de estudo
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Não
Estuda um produto de dispositivo regulamentado pela FDA dos EUA
Não
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