Stanford Psychiatry’s Renske Lok receives grant to research a stepped care approach to consolidate sleep and reduce cognitive decline in older adults

We are excited to share that Stanford Psychiatry’s Renske Lok, postdoctoral scholar of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, has received a grant from the National Institute on Aging titled “Application of precision medicine to phototherapy: a stepped care approach to consolidate sleep and slow cognitive decline in older adults.”

While consolidated sleep is crucial for healthy cognition and mood in older individuals, many suffer from sleep-wake fragmentation, a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease. One countermeasure of sleep-wake fragmentation is exposure to bright light (phototherapy). Studies using morning phototherapy have reported mixed results. However, both mathematical models of the circadian pacemaker and data from previous work suggest that afternoon light exposure, targeting circadian amplitude, may have greater effects on sleep-wake consolidation.

Since phototherapy can be administered without significant adverse effects, it is a promising tool to reverse sleep-wake fragmentation and slow cognitive decline. Therefore, the overarching goal of this study is to slow cognitive deterioration in older individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by investigating the utility of afternoon phototherapy.

“Consolidated sleep is crucial for cognition, health, and well-being in older adults, but the fragmentation of sleep and wake increases with age. We will investigate underlying mechanisms contributing to sleep-wake fragmentation and explore the utility of afternoon phototherapy to reduce the consequences this fragmentation,” says Dr. Lok. “Results from this project will increase knowledge about contributory factors to sleep-wake fragmentation and cognition, and may lead to a scalable intervention with the potential to diminish cognitive decline and other concomitants of fragmented sleep and improve quality of life in older individuals.”

Dr. Lok works with research mentor Jamie Zeitzer, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, in the Zeitzer Circadian Sleep Lab in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The Zeitzer Circadian Research Lab studies novel ways to record and manipulate sleep and circadian rhythms. Recent publications written by Dr. Lok and colleagues include “The sleep-circadian interface: A window into mental disorders” published in PNAS, “Brighter future for light therapy: harmonising the reporting of light interventions in psychiatry” published in the journal BMJ Mental Health, and “Perils of the nighttime: Impact of behavioral timing and preference on mental health in 73,888 community-dwelling adults” published in the journal Psychiatry Research.

More Information

For more details about this new grant, visit NIH RePORTER.