A recent scientific study has revealed a possible link between limited exposure to bright daylight and a higher risk of developing dementia, suggesting that less than 42 minutes of daily exposure to strong natural light may be an important indicator of increased likelihood of the disease.
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The study was conducted by an international research team led by researchers from Guangzhou Medical University in China, and published in the journal General Psychiatry. It examined 87,577 adults in the United Kingdom, with an average age of 62, using wrist-worn devices to measure light exposure during the day and night over seven days, before following the participants' health for an average of 8.1 years.
The results recorded 741 cases of dementia, and showed that people whose average daytime light exposure exceeded 1,000 lux, a unit measuring light intensity, had a 16% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those exposed to lower light levels.
The study also found that exposure to bright light of 5,000 lux or more, for at least 42 minutes a day, was linked to a 17% lower risk of developing dementia.
The researchers noted that less than 42 minutes of daily exposure to bright light showed the ability to predict dementia risk better than six known risk factors, including excessive alcohol consumption, air pollution, hearing loss, and obesity.
By contrast, the study found no statistically significant link between nighttime light exposure and dementia risk.
Researcher Hongliang Feng of Guangzhou Medical University in China explained that exposure to daylight may represent a new indicator for assessing dementia risk.
Despite these findings, the researchers emphasized that the study is observational, and does not prove that daylight exposure prevents dementia, as other factors, such as physical activity, sleep quality, and overall health status, may intertwine in explaining the observed relationship.
They stressed the need for additional trials to determine whether increasing exposure to daylight actually contributes to reducing dementia risk.
