“Older adults’ visual system changes as they age... As a result, older adults experience a decline in visual capabilities. The difficulty of adapting to the darkness can be a potential fall risk factor for older adults; ie, going to the bathroom at night.... Studies have proposed providing visual cues to help older adults walk safely in the dark while making sure the lighting intensity of the visual cues won’t disrupt sleep.”

“Lighting that enhances veridical visual information about the environment for older adults could be a practical and effective intervention to reduce fall risk... a wall-plug nightlight was associated with significantly greater sway in the early phase of the sit-to-stand test than was found with a novel nightlight system... an enhanced nightlight that provides both low ambient light levels and robust veridical visual cues during critical transition times from sitting to standing should be considered for applications in homes and assisted living facilities where falls risk is a concern.”

“Researchers at the Mount Sinai Light and Health Research Center are building evidence to support Medicare/Medicaid coverage for
in-home use of an effective lighting system. These systems use visual-cue lighting to help reduce falls among older adults by illuminating lights around patient and resident door frames. This is helpful because it allows the patients to see where they are and where they are heading, for example the restroom. The lighting helps with ability to see the call light, reach for the TV remote control, grab a sip of water,
and/or phone if they want to make a call. Providing the patients with this guidance may also relieve feelings of stress or anxiety as they regain clarity from being awakened.”

“This study is the first of its kind to... examine if changes in lighting spectrum and intensity throughout the day can reduce the risk of falls in the elderly,” said Dr. Shadab Rahman, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical school... “We found that upgrading ambient lighting is a safe, effective, low-cost, low-burden preventative strategy to reduce fall risk in long-term care settings, one that has tremendous potential to save lives and improve patients’ health and wellbeing.”

“LRC researchers have designed two night-lighting systems... Using standardized tests for balance and gait measures, the data showed that the enhanced horizontal and vertical LED system enabled both groups to maintain balance significantly better... when transitioning from sitting to standing position. While walking, the laser lines outlining the pathway significantly increased velocity and reduced step length variability... These studies demonstrated that a novel lighting system providing robust spatial cues is a practical and effective aid in reducing fall risk at night.”