# Bright Light Therapy for residual daytime symptoms associated with obstructive sleep apnea

> **NIH VA I01** · VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION · 2024 · —

## Abstract

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder characterized by impaired patency of the
upper airway during sleep, resulting in numerous brief arousals from sleep and causing significant
disability, lost quality of life and premature mortality1. OSA affects approximately 4-6% of the
population nationwide 2, with higher rates among military Veterans 3, and an increase in
prevalence of nearly twofold between 2005 and 2014 among VA patients4. OSA has direct effects
on quality of life, health-care resources consumption and costs 5. Military Veterans who have been
diagnosed with OSA have greater risk of developing depressive and anxiety disorders 6 possibly
mediated by daytime consequences of poor sleep, such as fatigue and excessive daytime
sleepiness7. While effective at treating respiratory disturbances and providing symptoms
resolutions, treatment with Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) is not universally successful and a
non-negligible proportion of patients who are correctly using PAP do not experience symptomatic
relief from sleepiness and depression, suggesting that mechanisms beyond the respiratory
disturbances may be involved in the pathogenesis of symptoms leading to disability. A growing
body of literature in animal and human models suggests that the sleep and respiratory
disturbances commonly seen in OSA, namely sleep fragmentation, partial sleep deprivation,
intermittent hypoxia, can promote shifts in circadian rhythms ultimately leading to misalignment
between sleep-wake rhythms and the internal clock. Targeting the circadian disturbance with
chronotherapeutic interventions may improve symptoms that most affect daily functioning and
quality of life, ultimately preventing the downstream effects of OSA leading to disability.
Supplementary exposure to bright light has beneficial effects on sleep, daytime vigilance and
mood and it has been increasingly applied in a variety of sleep and neuropsychiatric conditions11
12. Our study is the first to use bright light therapy to improve sleep related functioning by reducing
the residual daytime symptoms most strongly linked to disability in patients with sleep apnea. We
will conduct a within-subjects crossover trial intervention to test the effects of BLT on and CPAP-
resistant symptoms of sleepiness and depression and sleep, sleep-related functional impairment
and quality of life in patients with OSA on CPAP therapy. We will also explore whether the
circadian phase shifting moderates the degree of changes in daytime symptoms and functional
impairment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10747631
- **Project number:** 1I01RX004531-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Isabella Soreca
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-11-01 → 2028-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10747631

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10747631, Bright Light Therapy for residual daytime symptoms associated with obstructive sleep apnea (1I01RX004531-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10747631. Licensed CC0.

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