Non-pharmacological interventions for sleep disorders in patients with Alzheimer's disease: An integrative review.

BACKGROUND

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with behavioral and physical manifestations, such as sleep disturbances, which worsen the course of the disease and require effective management strategies. This review investigates non-pharmacological interventions available for the control of sleep disorders in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

METHODS

This is an integrative review, with searches carried out in the Public Medical Database, Science Direct, Scientific Electronic Library Online and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences, using the descriptors: "Alzheimer Disease", "Sleep Wake Disorders", "Sleep Disorders", and "Therapeutics". Original studies evaluating non-pharmacological treatments for sleep disorders in patients with AD and using specific instruments to assess improvement in sleep disorders were included.

RESULTS

The non-pharmacological interventions evaluated included bright light therapy, morning light exposure, personalized lighting intervention, blue-enriched white light exposure, transcranial magnetic stimulation, acupressure, multimodal exercise program, aromatic oil bath salts, light visor phototherapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and deep brain stimulation. Additionally, one article investigated the combination of bright light exposure with walking, as well as the isolated effects of each intervention.

CONCLUSION

Non-pharmacological interventions for managing sleep disorders in patients with AD have shown promising strategies, including approaches such as light therapy, physical stimulation techniques, and acupressure, with results indicating potential benefits in improving sleep quality and mitigating behavioral and cognitive symptoms associated with the disease. However, current evidence highlights the need for future studies with more rigorous methodologies, larger population samples, and long-term follow-up to consolidate the efficacy and applicability of these interventions in clinical practice.