DataPDF Available

Treatment of ADHD insomnia with blue wavelength blocking glasses

Authors:
© 2013 Fargason et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd. This is an Open Access article
which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy 2013:3 1–8
ChronoPhysiology and erapy
Treatment of attention decit hyperactivity
disorder insomnia with blue wavelength
light-blocking glasses
Rachel E Fargason
Taylor Preston
Emily Hammond
Roberta May
Karen L Gamble
Department of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Neurobiology, University
of Alabama at Birmingham School
of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA
Correspondence: Rachel Fargason
3rd Floor Callahan Eye Foundation
Hospital, 1720 University Boulevard,
Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Tel +1 205 934 4301
Fax +1 205 975 9600
Email Rfargason@uab.edu
Background: The aim of this study was to examine a nonmedical treatment alternative to
medication in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) insomnia, in which blue wavelength
light-blocking glasses are worn during the evening hours to counteract the phase-delaying effect
of light. Outcome measures included sleep quality and midsleep time. The capacity of ADHD
subjects to comply with treatment using the glasses was assessed.
Methods: Daily bedtime, wake-up time, and compliance diaries were used to assess sleep
quality and timing during a baseline observation week and a 2-week intervention period. The
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was administered following baseline and intervention.
The intervention protocol consisted of use of blue wavelength-blocking glasses and a moderate
lighting environment during evening hours.
Results: Partial and variable compliance were noted, with only 14 of 22 subjects completing
the study due to nonadherence with wearing the glasses and diary completion. Despite the
minimum 3-hour recommendation, glasses were worn, on average, for 2.4 hours daily. Lighting
was reduced for only 58.7% of the evening. Compared with baseline, the intervention resulted
in significant improvement in global PSQI scores, PSQI subcomponent scores, and sleep diary
measures of morning refreshment after sleep (P = 0.037) and night-time awakenings (P = 0.015).
Global PSQI scores fell from 11.15 to 4.54, dropping below the cut-off score of 5 for clinical
insomnia. The more phase-delayed subjects, ie, those with an initial midsleep time after 4:15 am,
trended towards an earlier midsleep time by 43.2 minutes following the intervention (P = 0.073).
Participants reported less anxiety following the intervention (P = 0.048).
Conclusions: Despite only partial compliance with intervention instructions, subjects com-
pleting the study showed subjectively reduced anxiety and improved sleep quality on multiple
measures. The more sleep-delayed subjects trended toward an earlier sleep period following
use of the glasses. Blue-blocking glasses are a potential insomnia treatment for more compliant
subjects with ADHD insomnia, especially those with prominent sleep delay. Larger studies of
blue light-blocking glasses in more phase-delayed groups could reveal significant advances in
chronotherapeutics.
Keywords: insomnia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, circadian rhythm disorders,
chronobiological treatment
Introduction
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) insomnia is a prevalent problem. An
estimated 4.4% of the adult population suffers from ADHD, with over 70% of these
individuals experiencing insomnia.
1,2
Dim-light melatonin onset studies and clinical
studies using DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fourth Edition, Text Revision) criteria have demonstrated that two-thirds of subjects
Dovepress
submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com
Dovepress
1
SHORT REPORT
open access to scientific and medical research
Open Access Full Text Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CPT.S37985
Number of times this article has been viewed
This article was published in the following Dove Press journal:
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy
4 January 2013
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy 2013:3
with ADHD insomnia have circadian rhythm sleep disorder,
delayed sleep phase type,
3,4
and one-third have primary
insomnia without evidence of circadian delay.
4
Even groups
of ADHD subjects who do not report sleep problems often
manifest clinically significant insomnia.
3,5
Recent studies
show a link between ADHD and genes involved in the
circadian timekeeping system.
6,7
A polymorphism at the
3-untranslated region of the circadian locomotor output
cycles kaput (CLOCK) gene is associated with adult ADHD.
6
It is unknown whether a common genetic link underlies
both the ADHD and the circadian disorder, or if the sleep
disorder is simply a modifier of ADHD symptomatology.
Intrinsically photoreceptive melanopsin-containing retinal
ganglion cells are primarily responsible for transmitting the
presence of short-wavelength light to the primary circadian
pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which in turn
suppresses the hormone melatonin.
8
ADHD subjects have
suppressed, shortened, and delayed evening melatonin
secretion, which affects both melatonin-related hypnotic
and circadian phase resetting functions, as well as bodily
functions such as blood pressure, thermoregulation, and
glucose regulation.
3,9
Exogenous melatonin is commonly
used to treat insomnia in ADHD, but study results for
efficacy are conflicting,
10
as a result of the varying potency
of a substance not approved by the US Food and Drug
Administration and the individual variability in timing and
dosing needs of melatonergic agents.
11,12
Another study
of chronobiological treatments for ADHD demonstrated
that advancing the circadian phase in ADHD subjects by
use of morning bright light therapy is strongly correlated
with improvement in core ADHD symptoms.
13
Despite the
positive results of that study, it has not been replicated with
objective measures of circadian phase. Chronobiological
treatments, such as bright light therapy, have become the
standard of care for some psychiatric conditions, such as
seasonal affective disorder,
14
and are gaining momentum with
the use of total sleep deprivation to advance circadian phase
in manic bipolar subjects in order to stabilize mood.
15
Despite
recent advances, many potential uses of chronobiological
treatments for psychiatric disorders with circadian disruption,
including ADHD, are as yet unexplored.
Chronic exposure to electrical lighting in the evening
further disrupts melatonin signaling in both ADHD and control
subjects, suppressing and delaying the normal nocturnal
rise in melatonin to a profound degree, and shortening
melatonin duration and the body’s internal representation
of night.
16
Melatonin suppression, with associated insomnia,
is particularly sensitive to light in the blue wavelength
(about 460 nm) emitted from cell phones, computers, and
television.
17
Self-medication for insomnia is common,
and medications prescribed for insomnia carry the risk of
addiction, accidents, cognitive impairment, and medical
side effects.
18,19
Nonpharmacological chronobiological
treatments are low risk, and specifically address the circadian
deficit in ADHD insomnia. Because neural pathways
from the retina to the primary circadian pacemaker in the
suprachiasmatic nucleus respond only to shorter wavelength
light of ,550 nm, physiological darkness can be produced by
use of blue wavelength-blocking glasses with the advantage
of continued evening functioning. Blue light-blocking glasses
have been shown to preserve normal evening night-time
melatonin production in subjects exposed to light.
20,21
One
randomized study of subjects with insomnia demonstrated
improved sleep quality and mood in an intervention group
wearing blue wavelength-blocking glasses, compared with
a placebo group.
22
Daytime use of the glasses in permanent
night-shift workers resulted in longer sleep, better daytime
sleep efficiency, and less sleep fragmentation.
23
Analogously,
darkness treatment improved sleep and mood in subjects with
bipolar disorder.
24,25
This is the first study to examine the chronobiological
treatment of blue wavelength-blocking glasses in adults
with ADHD insomnia. It explores the primary hypothesis
that wearing glasses that filter blue wavelength light from
overhead lights and electronic appliances will counteract
the deleterious effects of evening light on sleep, thereby
advancing sleep phase. In addition, we hypothesize that use
of these glasses will improve sleep quality measures, such
as sleep efficiency, total sleep time, and sleep fragmentation
in subjects with ADHD insomnia, providing a potential
nonmedical treatment alternative to hypnotic medication.
Finally, we explore the feasibility of this regular and
sustained intervention for sleep behavior in the adult
ADHD population, which is a population at risk for poor
compliance.
Materials and methods
Subjects aged 19 years and older attending the Adult ADHD
Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of Alabama at
Birmingham School of Medicine (UAB) were recruited for
this 3-week study extending from fall 2011 to spring 2012.
The UAB institutional review board approved the study
and all participants signed an informed consent form prior
to participation. Participants were informed that the study
explored a treatment for delayed sleep rhythms; all subjects
agreed to treatment in anticipation of this specific benefit.
submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com
Dovepress
Dovepress
2
Fargason et al
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy 2013:3
Inclusion criteria included a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of
both ADHD and circadian rhythm sleep disorder, delayed
sleep phase type, by physician-administered semistructured
interview and the ADHD-Rating Scale-IV validated
diagnostic scale. Exclusion criteria included shift-work, use
of sleep medication, active or severe psychiatric disorders,
substance abuse or dependence, sleep disorders other than
insomnia, chronic pain, and active or severe medical problems.
In determining not to have an age cut-off for this pilot
study, we considered typical age-related alterations in sleep
patterns. However, all study subjects, including older ones,
reported delayed sleep patterns significant enough to cause
daytime dysfunction, and hence met DSM-IV-TR criteria for
circadian rhythm sleep disorder, delayed sleep phase type,
which is a diagnosis made by clinical history. These subjects
resembled younger ADHD subjects by history much more
than their same-age peers, who in the absence of ADHD,
typically have more advanced sleep cycles. Also, while
older subjects demonstrate diminished arousal responses to
bright light exposure compared with younger subjects,
phase-delaying responses to light are undiminished.
26,27
Because the primary outcome measure for this study was
phase change from baseline resulting from intervention
using the experimental glasses, absolute baselines were less
important. Medication risks make subjects of advanced age
most needful of nonpharmacological treatments for delayed
circadian rhythm sleep disorder.
Procedure
The first week was the baseline assessment period. Assessment
measures were collected while the subjects engaged in
their usual evening activities. Following a reminder call,
the 2-week intervention period began. Participants were
instructed to wear a set of amber glasses that blocked
wavelengths of light from 530 nm and below (blue and
violet wavelengths of light) from sundown until bedtime
every evening. Subjects wearing corrective lenses wore
amber glasses designed to fit over their own pair of glasses.
LowBlueLights.com (Photonic Developments LLC and the
Lighting Innovations Institute) manufactured the glasses and
generously provided them for this project. One recent study
demonstrated that ordinary yellow-tinted “placebo” glasses
had partial blue wavelength-blocking effects.
22
In the absence
of a viable placebo option, we elected for an open trial format
using the baseline period for comparison. Participants were
instructed to wear the glasses every evening (beginning at
sundown) for a minimum of 3 hours prior to bedtime until
turning the lights out to sleep. Subjects were instructed to
create a moderate light environment by using only floor and
table lamps and avoiding overhead lights during the evening.
Reduction of the typical evening bright light environment
to a moderate light environment was incorporated into the
intervention protocol to reduce unfiltered light entering
the retina from the periphery of the glasses, which might
otherwise have confounded our study results. Reducing
bright light to moderate levels alone could not significantly
alter the study results, because even moderate indoor
lighting environments with the 200 lux intensity required to
concentrate on detail inhibit nocturnal melatonin onset and
delay sleep phase.
28
True dim-light conditions of ,60 lux do
not suppress melatonin onset but are impractical, and a single
candle is 20–30 lux.
28
If participants awoke during the night,
they were instructed to put the glasses on before turning on
a lamp. Subjects otherwise engaged in their usual evening
activities and routine. All subjects but one took optimized
doses of ADHD medications and were instructed to continue
taking their regular regimen during the study. Subjects
were instructed to minimize caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol,
avoiding caffeine after lunch and alcohol and smoking after
dinner. Instructions were provided verbally and in writing.
Compliance with instructions was assessed daily.
Assessment measures
Standard bedtime and wake-up diaries were assessed
daily during the first baseline week to capture information
regarding the participants subjective emotional state,
bedtime, sleep latency, nocturnal wakening, time spent
awake in the night, wake time, and feelings of alertness and
refreshment upon waking. During weeks 2 and 3, ie, the
intervention period, participants completed sleep diaries with
additional questions designed to measure compliance with
protocol instructions.
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was measured at
the end of the baseline assessment week and again after the
intervention. The PSQI is a validated self-rating instrument
assessing aspects of sleep quality.
29
Field-testing of the
PSQI shows high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating
persons with insomnia from unaffected controls when
the score is .5.
30
The PSQI is considered appropriate in
identifying “new-onset” insomnia in the clinical setting.
30,31
Compliance measures
During the intervention period, nightly diary questions
recorded the precise times the glasses were worn,
submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com
Dovepress
Dovepress
3
Treatment of ADHD insomnia with blue wavelength light-blocking glasses
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy 2013:3
the relationship between removal of glasses to lights-out
time, and the percent of evening time the lights were kept
dimmed.
Statistical analysis
Advances in sleep rhythms were measured by midsleep time,
ie, the time point midway between sleep time and waking time.
Midsleep time is a reliable clinical measure of circadian phase
in the absence of other physiological measures.
32
Sleep diaries
and the PSQI were compared for baseline versus intervention
conditions by two-tailed paired t-tests. A two-way analysis
of variance was used to compare midsleep times following
intervention in phase subgroups of subjects.
Results
Participant demographics
Twenty-two subjects entered the study, with 14 subjects
completing it. Six subjects never began the study due
to illness, sudden travel, or irregular schedules, and two
motivated subjects were (with some embarrassment)
unable to complete it. All early terminations involved poor
motivation to complete the diaries or forgetting to wear
the glasses. Subjects were aged 21–76 years, with a mean
age of 43.9 years. The study population was 43% male and
57% female, 64.2% were married or cohabitating, 43% had
post-graduate degrees, and all subjects had some post high
school training. Only 7.1% of subjects were unemployed.
Participant compliance
During the intervention period, the glasses were worn for,
on average, 2.4 hours daily (instructions were for 3 hours
minimum). Glasses were put on at a mean decimal time of
20.7 (about 8:45 pm) and taken off at 23.20 (about 11:10 pm).
A high variability in compliance was noted between subjects,
with some starting as early as 18.95 (before 7:00 pm) and
others as late as 23.23 (about 11.15 pm). Subjects had been
instructed to wear the glasses until the lights were turned off
at bedtime. Glasses were removed on average 0.52 hours
(slightly over 30 minutes) before bed, but this time interval
varied from 0.47 hours after turning off lights to 3.15 hours
before bedtime. The average percentage of evening time
subjects kept overhead lights off after sundown, as instructed,
was 58.7%, but ranged from 7% to 91% of evening hours.
Outside light exposure varied from 11 minutes to 3.83 hours
and averaged 1.51 hours. One subject reported a mild
intermittent headache, possibly related to wearing the glasses
and another subject reported pain on the bridge of the nose
from the glasses.
PSQI sleep quality
We next examined whether sleep quality improved with the
intervention (Table 1). Significant improvement was noted
on global PSQI scores as well as nearly every subcomponent
following the intervention, with the exception of sleep
medications,which were not permitted during the study.
Global PSQI scores fell from a mean of 11.15 ± 3.50
to 4.54 ± 3.15 following the intervention. Scores below
the cut-off of 5 are considered to be within the normal
range. Figure 1 depicts the individual global PSQI scores
both before and after intervention using the experimental
glasses.
Sleep diary variables
In order to determine the effect of intervention on daily
self-reported sleep measures, paired-samples t-tests were
run for each subject before and after intervention using the
experimental glasses. Statistically significant differences
were noted on sleep diary items for the number of night-
time awakenings and feeling refreshed on awakening”.
Feeling refreshed after sleep was significantly improved
after the intervention compared with baseline [t(13) = 2.329,
P = 0.037]. Night-time awakenings were significantly
reduced following the intervention compared with baseline
[t(13) = 2.805, P = 0.015]. To compare the consistency of
the sleep diary with the PSQI parameters, we compared
the reported sleep latency values. These two measures
were significantly correlated with each other [Pearsons
correlation, R(14) = 0.585, P = 0.028].
Midsleep time
We hypothesized that blocking evening blue light exposure
may not advance circadian phase but may prevent further
phase delay. Therefore, we sought to examine whether
Table 1 Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index results
Pair differences t df Signicance
(two-tailed)
Mean SD SEM
Sleep quality 0.62 0.65 0.18 3.4 12 0.005
Sleep latency 0.69 0.75 0.21 3.3 12 0.006
Total sleep time 1.46 1.13 0.31 4.7 12 0.001
Sleep efciency 1.23 1.01 0.28 4.4 12 0.001
Sleep disturbance 1.46 0.52 0.14 10.2 12 0.000
Sleep medications 0.39 0.77 0.21 1.8 12 0.096
Daytime dysfunction 0.77 0.73 0.20 2.8 12 0.002
Global PSQI 6.62 2.4 0.68 9.8 12 0.00
Notes: Table depicts mean decrease in scores (lower score means less impaired)
on each component of the PSQI and the Global PSQI. Statistical signicance was
noted on each measurable component.
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; SEM, standard error of the mean;
PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.
submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com
Dovepress
Dovepress
4
Fargason et al
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy 2013:3
wearing the glasses was more effective for subjects who
were more delayed to start with. Midsleep time for the
baseline circadian phase was used to divide the cohort into
two groups using the 50th percentile, with 4.25 decimal
time (4:15 am) the resulting cut-off, leaving an earlier group
with midsleep time before 4.25 and a more delayed group
with midsleep time 4.25 and later. A two-way repeated-
measures analysis of variance revealed no main effect of
the intervention [F(1,12) = 2.77, P = 0.122], although there
was a strong trend toward a phase type X intervention
interaction [F(1,12) = 3.85, P = 0.073], such that the glasses
condition tended to shift midsleep time earlier in the more
delayed group (Figure 2). The more delayed group shifted
to a mean of 0.72 hours (43.2 minutes) earlier following
the intervention. No change in circadian phase was seen in
the earlier group following intervention.
Sleep diary mood scores
Although clinical levels of anxiety and depression were
exclusion criteria for the study, we compared the mood
ratings for the sleep diary before and after the intervention
using paired t-tests. Participants indicated being significantly
less worried (the cognitive component of anxiety), following
the intervention [mean ± standard error of the mean: baseline
3.27 ± 0.17; intervention 3.48 ± 0.15, t(13) = 2.178,
P = 0.048]. Other measures, such as jitteriness, moodiness,
sadness, tension, irritability, and poor concentration, were
unchanged (P . 0.05).
Discussion
Use of the blue wavelength light-blocking glasses did not
significantly advance the circadian phase outcome measure of
midsleep time as expected. However, the seven subjects who
had more delayed sleep times advanced their sleep time by an
average of 43 minutes following the intervention, a positive
trend that with a larger sample size could reach significance.
In large pharmaceutical trials, improvements in sleep latency
of 15–29 minutes were clinically significant.
33,34
By contrast,
robust improvements occurred in sleep quality as measured
by global PSQI scores, despite the small sample size, attesting
to the size of the measured effect. Post-intervention scores
decreased to less than half of the baseline scores. Moreover,
the notable improvement in the PSQI subcomponents
confirmed the significant sleep diary findings of increased
morning refreshment and decreased night-time awakenings.
The correlation between PSQI and sleep diary findings
strengthens the consistency of these findings. Of interest,
while all sleep quality subcomponents measured were
significantly improved, the subjects’ chief complaints were
not of sleep quality problems, but circadian phase delays.
Several subjects verbally reported “no improvement” from
wearing the glasses in spite of positive improvement on the
research measures.
A recent study showed that abnormal sleep quality,
and in particular daytime sleepiness, was present even in
ADHD subjects who did not report insomnia or a circadian
delay complaint (as measured by the detailed PSQI scale).
5
Likewise, subjects in this study were not aware of all
aspects of their insomnia until specifically questioned by the
detailed PSQI. The robust improvement in these relatively
unrecognized symptoms with the glasses intervention
suggests that interventions that address circadian components
Baseline Intervention
Global PSQI score
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Figure 1 Individual PSQI global scores. Global PSQI scores are shown for each
subject before and after the glasses intervention.
Note: Subjects’ mean scores dropped from 11.15 to 4.54, below the clinically
impaired score of 5 and into the normal range.
Abbreviation: PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.
Mean midsleep time
(decimal hours)
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Baseline
Following
intervention
Earlier
More delayed
Figure 2 Midsleep time.
Notes: Mean midsleep time is compared before and after intervention with glasses
for the earlier, #4.25 decimal time, and more delayed groups, 4.25+ decimal time.
n = 7 for each group. The earlier group shows little change following intervention but
the more delayed group demonstrates a positive trend, with an average 43 minutes
advance in midsleep time following the intervention (P = 0.073).
submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com
Dovepress
Dovepress
5
Treatment of ADHD insomnia with blue wavelength light-blocking glasses
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy 2013:3
of insomnia may also improve sleep quality issues assessed
by the PSQI, such as sleep latency, sleep efficiency, total
sleep time, daytime sleepiness, and night-time arousals.
One polysomnography study demonstrated that evening
light exposure had a seeming alerting effect persisting into
the sleep episode, as evidenced by reduced slow wave sleep
and shortened rapid eye movement sleep duration during
the initial sleep cycle, with later rebound of slow wave sleep
during the third sleep cycle. Blocking this alerting, sleep-
lightening effect from light with the glasses may explain
the improved sleep quality.
35
Sumova et al demonstrated
dual night-time melatonin peaks in patients with ADHD,
which they hypothesized could mediate the sleep disruption
observed in ADHD/sleep studies.
36
Similarly, by reducing
exposure to blue wavelength light, the glasses may normalize
melatonin output and decrease sleep disruptions, thereby
improving sleep quality. The relationship between circadian
rhythms and sleep quality requires further study. Of interest,
even though depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric
comorbid conditions were exclusion criteria for this study, the
subjects showed a significant decrease in anxiety following
the intervention.
The results of this study confirm the findings of previous
intervention studies using glasses. One study of insomnia
subjects comparing the efficacy of blue wavelength light-
filtering glasses with yellow-tinted “control” glasses showed
signicant improvement in sleep quality and mood (as measured
by sleep diary) and no change in sleep timing measures, such
as time to bed or wake-time following use.
22
Shift-work studies
with polarized lenses also showed improvement primarily in
quality rather than circadian measures.
23
In reference to the feasibility of the use of these glasses
in ADHD subjects, only two thirds of participating subjects
were able to complete the study. Prospective subjects were
invited to participate in the study and were not heavily
vetted for compliance capability. Completing sleep diaries
is known to be difficult for ADHD patients,
13
who have
trouble sustaining attention for repetitive tasks, particularly
paperwork. The subjects in this study were highly variable
in their degree of compliance and adhered to the protocol
only to a moderate degree, maintaining a moderate lighting
environment for a little more than half the time recommended
and wearing the glasses for, on average, 2.5 hours per
night, which was less than the recommended minimum of
3 hours. Supportive spouses who gave reminders improved
compliance. Despite only partial compliance with the
protocol instructions, improvement in insomnia/sleep quality
symptoms was noted, suggesting at least some therapeutic
benefit from the intervention. Regardless, instruction
must be carefully given and capacity for compliance assessed
before a patient is encouraged to buy the glasses. A spouse
should be involved in treatment if at all possible. Use of
validated scales before and after treatment would assist in
more objective determination of benefit. ADHD subjects
who are able to comply more fully with instructions would
be the best candidates for treatment with these glasses and
might be expected to have the most improvement in their
circadian delay. Future study designs for subjects with
ADHD insomnia should take compliance difficulties into
account, and the high prevalence and morbidity of the
condition warrants continued research, however arduous,
into efficacious treatments.
A potential limitation of this study is the wide age range
of the subjects, and further studies of younger versus older
subjects are needed. All data gathered in this study were
self-reported. To avoid the confounding effect of insufficient
dark-time to wear the glasses, we terminated the study
before the days became significantly longer, limiting the
sample size. Confirmation of these ndings will require
larger groups, including the different insomnia subtypes
(delayed circadian rhythm sleep disorder versus nondelayed
ADHD insomnia) and objective assessments of sleep quality,
melatonin levels, and other circadian measures to determine
if this and other chronobiological interventions have utility.
Although a strong placebo effect is observed in insomnia
studies, a placebo effect was less likely in the present study
because the participants were expecting an alteration in
sleep timing, which was not improved by the intervention
overall. However, sleep quality was noted to improve in
all cases, even in subjects who reported lack of any type of
improvement in sleep.
Conclusion
Despite moderate compliance with intervention instructions,
subjects who completed the intervention using blue light-
blocking glasses showed subjectively improved sleep quality
on a number of measures and reduced anxiety. Subjects with
an initial delayed midsleep time after 4:15 am showed a trend
towards earlier sleep following treatment. Blue wavelength
light-blocking glasses are a viable treatment for subjects with
ADHD insomnia who can comply with their use, especially
those subjects with greater sleep delays. Larger more
objective studies of subjects who are mostly delayed might
reveal significant advances in circadian rhythm in addition to
furthering our understanding of how evening light exposure
affects sleep quality.
submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com
Dovepress
Dovepress
6
Fargason et al
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy 2013:3
Acknowledgment
The authors thank LowBlueLights.com of Photonic
Developments LLC and the Lighting Innovations Institute
for donating the glasses used in this study.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.
References
1. Kessler RC, Adler L, Barkley R, et al. The prevalence and correlates of
adult ADHD in the United States: results from the National Comorbidity
Survey Replication. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163:716–723.
2. Philipsen A, Hornyak M, Riemann D. Sleep and sleep disorders in adults
with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Sleep Med Rev. 2006;10:
399–405.
3. Van Veen MM, Kooij JJ, Boonstra AM, Gordijn MC, Van Someren EJ.
Delayed circadian rhythm in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder and chronic sleep-onset insomnia. Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67:
1091–1096.
4. Fargason RE, Gamble KL, Avis K, Cates M, May R, Besing R.
Ramelteon for insomnia related to attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder. Psychopharmacol Bull. 2011;44:1–22.
5. Fargason RE, White S, Hollar A, Gamble K. Adults with attention-
deficit hyperactivity disorder without insomnia have subclinical sleep
disturbance but not circadian delay: an ADHD phenotype? J Atten
Disord. September 20, 2012. [Epub ahead of print.]
6. Kissling C, Retz W, Wiemann S, et al. A polymor phism at
the 3-untranslated region of the CLOCK gene is associated with
adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Am J Med Genet B
Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2008;147:333–338.
7. Xu X, Breen G, Chen CK, Huang YS, Wu YY, Asherson P. Association
study between a polymorphism at the 3-untranslated region of CLOCK
gene and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Behav Brain Funct.
2010;6:48.
8. Schmidt TM, Chen SK, Hattar S. Intrinsically photosensitive retinal
ganglion cells: many subtypes, diverse functions. Trends Neurosci.
2011;34:572–580.
9. Van der Heijden KB, Smits MG, Van Someren EJ, Gunning WB.
Idiopathic chronic sleep onset insomnia in attention-deficit/
hyperactivity disorder: a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. Chronobiol
Int. 2005;22:559–570.
10. Ingeborg M, van Geijlswijk IM, Korzilius HP, Smits MG. The use of
exogenous melatonin in delayed sleep phase disorder: a meta-analysis.
Sleep. 2010;33:1605–1614.
11. Burgess HJ, Revell VL, Molina TA, Eastman CI. Human phase response
curves to three days of daily melatonin: 0.5 mg versus 3.0 mg. J Clin
Endocrinol Metab. 2010;95:3325–3331.
12. Burgess HJ, Revell VL, Eastman CI. A three pulse phase response
curve to three milligrams of melatonin in humans. J Physiol. 2008;586:
639–647.
13. Rybak YE, McNeely HE, Mackenzie BE, Jain UR, Levitan RD. An open
trial of light therapy in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
J Clin Psychiatry. 2006;67:1527–1535.
14. Terman M. Evolving applications of light therapy. Sleep Med Rev.
2007;11:497–507.
15. Benedetti F, Dallaspezia S, Fulgosi MC, Barbini B, Colombo C,
Smeraldi E. Phase advance is an actimetric correlate of antidepressant
response to sleep deprivation and light therapy in bipolar depression.
Chronobiol Int. 2007;24:921–937.
16. Gooley JJ, Chamberlain K, Smith KA, et al. Exposure to room
light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and short-
ens melatonin duration in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab.
2011;96:E463–E472.
17. Gooley JJ, Rajaratnam SM, Brainard GC, Kronauer RE, Czeisler CA,
Lockley SW. Spectral responses of the human circadian system depend
on the irradiance and duration of exposure to light. Sci Transl Med.
2010;2:31–33.
18. Johnson JE. Insomnia, alcohol, and over-the-counter drug use in older
urban women. J Community Health Nurs. 1997;14:181–188.
19. Rosenberg RP. Sleep maintenance insomnia: strengths and weaknesses
of current pharmacologic therapies. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2006;18:
49–56.
20. Kayumov L, Casper RF, Hawa RJ, et al. Blocking low-wavelength
light prevents nocturnal melatonin suppression with no adverse effect
on performance during simulated shift work. J Clin Endocrinol Metab.
2005;90:2755–2761.
21. Sasseville A, Paquet N, Sevigny J, Hebert M. Blue blocker glasses
impede the capacity of bright light to suppress melatonin production.
J Pineal Res. 2006;41:73–78.
22. Burkhart K, Phelps JR. Amber lenses to block blue light and improve
sleep: a randomized trial. Chronobiol Int. 2009;26:1602–1612.
23. Sasseville A, Benhaberou-Brun D, Fontaine C, Charon MC, Hebert M.
Wearing blue-blockers in the morning could improve sleep of
workers on a permanent night schedule: a pilot study. Chronobiol Int.
2009;26:913–925.
24. Wirz-Justice A, Bromundt V, Cajochen C. Circadian disruption and
psychiatric disorders: the importance of entrainment. Sleep Med Clin.
2009;4:273–284.
25. Phelps J. Dark therapy for bipolar disorder using amber lenses for blue
light blockade. Med Hypotheses. 2008;70:224–229.
26. Sletten TL, Revell VL, Middleton B, Lederle KA, Skene DJ. Age-related
changes in acute and phase-advancing resonses to monochromatic light.
J Biol Rhythms. 2009;24:73–89.
27. Friedman L, Zeitzer JM, Kushida C, et al. Scheduled bright
light for treatment of insomia in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc.
2009;57:441–452.
28. Harada T. Effects of evening light conditions on salivary melatonin
of Japanese junior high school students. J Circadian Rhythms.
2004;2:4.
29. Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF III, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric
practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989;28:193–213.
30. Backhaus J, Junghanns K, Broocks A, Riemann D, Hohagen F. Test-
retest reliability and validity of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in
primary insomnia. J Psychosom Res. 2002;53:737–740.
31. Buysse DJ, Hall ML, Strollo PJ, et al. Relationships between the
Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS),
and clinical/polysomnographic measures in a community sample. J Clin
Sleep Med. 2008;4:563–571.
32. Zavada A, Gordijn MC, Beersma DG, Daan S, Roenneberg T.
Comparison of the Munich chronotype questionnaire with the
Horne-Ostberg’s morningness-eveningness score. Chronobiol Int.
2005;22:267–278.
33. Scharf MB, Roth T, Vogel GW, Walsh JK. A multicenter,
placebo-controlled study evaluating zolpidem in the treatment of chronic
insomnia. J Clin Psychiatry. 1994;55:192–199.
34. Zammit GK, McNabb LJ, Caron J, Amato DA, Roth T. Efficacy and
safety of eszopiclone across 6-weeks of treatment for primary insomnia.
Curr Med Res Opin. 2004;20:1979–1991.
35. Munch M, Kobialka S, Steiner R, Oelhafen P, Wirz-Justice A,
Cajochen C. Wavelength-dependent effects of evening light exposure
on sleep architecture and sleep EEG power density in men. Am J Physiol
Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2006;290:R1421–R1428.
36. Novakova M, Paclt I, Ptacek R, Kuzelova H, Hajek I, Sumova A.
Salivary melatonin rhythm as a marker of the circadian system in
healthy children and those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Chronobiol Int. 2011;28:630–637.
submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com
Dovepress
Dovepress
7
Treatment of ADHD insomnia with blue wavelength light-blocking glasses
ChronoPhysiology and erapy
Publish your work in this journal
Submit your manuscript here: http://www.dovepress.com/chronophysiology-and-therapy-journal
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy is an international, peer-reviewed,
open access journal focusing on research into the cyclic variations and
rhythmicity in physiological processes in the body and the research and
development and optimal timing of administration of therapeutic targets
to achieve improved outcomes and quality of life for the patient. The
manuscript management system is completely online and includes a
very quick and fair peer-review system. Visit http://www.dovepress.com/
testimonials.php to read real quotes from published authors.
ChronoPhysiology and Therapy 2013:3
submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com
Dovepress
Dovepress
Dovepress
8
Fargason et al
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Article
Full-text available
Objectives: This study evaluated the efficacy of ramelteon for insomnia in adult subjects with ADHD. Experimental design: For this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 8 mg of ramelteon was given nightly, within three hours of bedtime, to ADHD-insomnia subjects confirmed by DSM-IV-TR, ADHD-RS, MINI, and clinical interview. All subjects underwent two weeks each of ramelteon and placebo. Objective sleep measures were obtained by actigraphy. Subjective measures included: the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and ADHD-RS. Principal observations: Of 36 subjects entering the study, 58% met criteria for circadian rhythm sleep disorder (CRSD), delayed sleep phase type. During ramelteon period, mid-sleep time, an indicator of circadian phase, occurred significantly earlier, by ~45 minutes compared to placebo period. An association was noted between the magnitude of the sleep phase advance and the timing of ramelteon administration in relationship to sleep start time, but did not reach statistical significance; maximal efficacy was noted 1.5 hours before bedtime. Paradoxically, ramelteon marginally, but significantly increased sleep fragmentation and ESS scores compared to the placebo state. Conclusions: Ramelteon is efficacious in maintaining an earlier sleep/wake cycle in adults with ADHD and CRSD but can have paradoxical fragmenting effects on sleep and exacerbate daytime sleepiness. In the presence of a circadian rhythm disorder, the usual dosing and timing parameters for ramelteon need to be carefully considered.
Article
Full-text available
Strong evidence for an involvement of the circadian clock in psychiatric disorders has emerged. Indeed, some of the major hallmarks of diseases such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia are abnormal sleep–wake, appetite, and social rhythms. In addition, many of the successful treatments in psychiatry affect circadian rhythms, and it appears that the phase shifts, resetting and stabilization of rhythms produced by these treatments are important for therapeutic efficacy. Psychiatric disorders account for more than 25% of inpatient hospital beds worldwide, and disturbed sleep–wake cycles in patients are a top-cited reason for the choice of inpatient care. Thus, the relationship between circadian disruption and psychiatric disorders is a topic of great medical relevance.
Article
Full-text available
Objective: To explore the potential ADHD phenotype of ADHD-without reported insomnia in comparison with controls and their tolerance of stimulants in a cohort rigorously screened for comorbidities. Method: Adults meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR) criteria for ADHD-without insomnia and matched controls were administered a sleep/medication-timing questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results: Among 105 participants, ADHD participants scored in the mild insomnia range and showed reduced sleep quality compared with controls, F(3, 101) = 34.9, p < .05, but no delay in bedtime/mid-sleep-time circadian measures. Sleep quality was similar between stimulant, nonstimulant, and unmedicated groups, χ(2) 2 = 0.445, p = .80. However, later timing of stimulant dosing was correlated with later sleep times, p < .01. Conclusion: We isolated a potential phenotype of ADHD-without circadian delay in adults who demonstrated insomnia/sleep quality disturbance by sleep instrument, but lacked sleep-timing delay. Nevertheless, sleep delays were associated temporally with late-dosed stimulants in this group.
Article
Full-text available
The circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK) gene encodes protein regulation circadian rhythm and also plays some roles in neural transmitter systems including the dopamine system. Several lines of evidence implicate a relationship between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), circadian rythmicity and sleeping disturbances. A recent study has reported that a polymorphism (rs1801260) at the 3'-untranslated region of the CLOCK gene is associated with adult ADHD. To investigate the association between the polymorphism (rs1801260) in ADHD, two samples of ADHD probands from the United Kingdom (n = 180) and Taiwan (n = 212) were genotyped and analysed using within-family transmission disequilibrium test (TDT). Bonferroni correction procedures were used to just for multiple comparisons. We found evidence of increased transmission of the T allele of the rs1801260 polymorphism in Taiwanese samples (P = 0.010). There was also evidence of preferential transmission of the T allele of the rs1801260 polymorphism in combined samples from the Taiwan and UK (P = 0.008). This study provides evidence for the possible involvement of CLOCK in susceptibility to ADHD.
Article
Full-text available
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurobehavioral disorder of childhood. Problems with sleep structure, efficiency, and timing have been reported in some, but not all, studies on ADHD children. As the sleep-wake cycle belongs to circadian rhythms, the timekeeping circadian system might be involved in ADHD. To assess whether the circadian system of ADHD children differs from that of controls, the rhythm of the pineal hormone melatonin was used as a reliable marker of the system. Saliva from 34 ADHD and 43 control 6- to 12-yr-old children was sampled at 2-h intervals throughout the entire 24-h cycle, and the melatonin profiles of the ADHD and control children were compared. The nocturnal melatonin peaks of the ADHD and control group did not differ significantly. The high nocturnal interindividual variability of the peaks seen in adulthood was present already in the studied children. The 24-h melatonin profiles of all the ADHD subjects did not differ significantly from those of the control subjects. Categorization of subjects according to age, into groups of 6- to 7-yr-old (9 ADHD, 5 control), 8- to 9-yr-old (16 ADHD, 26 control), and 10- to 12-yr-old (9 ADHD, 12 control) children, revealed significant differences between the ADHD and control group in the melatonin rhythm waveform, but not in nocturnal melatonin peaks; the peaks were about the same in both groups and did not change significantly with increasing age. In the oldest, but not in the younger, children, the melatonin signal duration in the ADHD group was shorter than in the control group. The difference might be due to the fact that whereas in the control group both the evening melatonin onset and the morning offset phase delayed in the oldest children relative to those in the youngest children, in the ADHD group only the onset, but not the offset, phase delayed with increasing age. The data may indicate subtle differences between the circadian system of ADHD and control children during development.
Article
Full-text available
Millions of individuals habitually expose themselves to room light in the hours before bedtime, yet the effects of this behavior on melatonin signaling are not well recognized. We tested the hypothesis that exposure to room light in the late evening suppresses the onset of melatonin synthesis and shortens the duration of melatonin production. In a retrospective analysis, we compared daily melatonin profiles in individuals living in room light (<200 lux) vs. dim light (<3 lux). Healthy volunteers (n = 116, 18-30 yr) were recruited from the general population to participate in one of two studies. Participants lived in a General Clinical Research Center for at least five consecutive days. Individuals were exposed to room light or dim light in the 8 h preceding bedtime. Melatonin duration, onset and offset, suppression, and phase angle of entrainment were determined. Compared with dim light, exposure to room light before bedtime suppressed melatonin, resulting in a later melatonin onset in 99.0% of individuals and shortening melatonin duration by about 90 min. Also, exposure to room light during the usual hours of sleep suppressed melatonin by greater than 50% in most (85%) trials. These findings indicate that room light exerts a profound suppressive effect on melatonin levels and shortens the body's internal representation of night duration. Hence, chronically exposing oneself to electrical lighting in the late evening disrupts melatonin signaling and could therefore potentially impact sleep, thermoregulation, blood pressure, and glucose homeostasis.
Article
Full-text available
To perform a meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of exogenous melatonin in advancing sleep-wake rhythm in patients with delayed sleep phase disorder. Meta analysis of papers indexed for PubMed, Embase, and the abstracts of sleep and chronobiologic societies (1990-2009). Individuals with delayed sleep phase disorder. Administration of melatonin. A meta-analysis of data of randomized controlled trials involving individuals with delayed sleep phase disorder that were published in English, compared melatonin with placebo, and reported 1 or more of the following: endogenous melatonin onset, clock hour of sleep onset, wake-up time, sleep-onset latency, and total sleep time. The 5 trials including 91 adults and 4 trials including 226 children showed that melatonin treatment advanced mean endogenous melatonin onset by 1.18 hours (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-1.48 h) and clock hour of sleep onset by 0.67 hours (95% CI: 0.45-0.89 h). Melatonin decreased sleep-onset latency by 23.27 minutes (95% CI: 4.83 -41.72 min). The wake-up time and total sleep time did not change significantly. Melatonin is effective in advancing sleep-wake rhythm and endogenous melatonin rhythm in delayed sleep phase disorder.
Article
Objective: Despite growing interest in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), little is known about its prevalence or correlates. Method: A screen for adult ADHD was included in a probability subsample (N=3,199) of 18-44-year-old respondents in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, a nationally representative household survey that used a lay-administered diagnostic interview to assess a wide range of DSM-IV disorders. Blinded clinical follow-up interviews of adult ADHD were carried out with 154 respondents, oversampling those with positive screen results. Multiple imputation was used to estimate prevalence and correlates of clinician-assessed adult ADHD. Results: The estimated prevalence of current adult ADHD was 4.4%. Significant correlates included being male, previously married, unemployed, and non-Hispanic white. Adult ADHD was highly comorbid with many other DSM-IV disorders assessed in the survey and was associated with substantial role impairment. The majority of cases were untreated, although many individuals had obtained treatment for other comorbid mental and substance-related disorders. Conclusions: Efforts are needed to increase the detection and treatment of adult ADHD. Research is needed to determine whether effective treatment would reduce the onset, persistence, and severity of disorders that co-occur with adult ADHD.
Article
For decades, rods and cones were thought to be the only photoreceptors in the mammalian retina. However, a population of atypical photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) expresses the photopigment melanopsin and is intrinsically photosensitive (ipRGCs). These ipRGCs are crucial for relaying light information from the retina to the brain to control circadian photoentrainment, pupillary light reflex, and sleep. ipRGCs were initially described as a uniform population involved solely in signaling irradiance for non-image forming functions. Recent work, however, has uncovered that ipRGCs are unexpectedly diverse at the molecular, cellular and functional levels, and could even be involved in image formation. This review summarizes our current understanding of the diversity of ipRGCs and their various roles in modulating behavior.