Exploring the Indoor Environmental Quality on sleep Quality when suffering from Dementia

The benefits of having a high indoor environmental quality (IEQ) for a healthy life and optimal performance are well known. In addition, research has been executed on the effects of indoor environmental parameters such as (day)light, sound/ acoustics, temperature, and air quality on people living with dementia (Hoof van et.al., 2010a; Hoof et.al. 2010b; ). To our knowledge, no research is being executed concerning IEQ and sleep quality when suffering from dementia.- Several studies have been executed on the effects of indoor air quality and daylight and healthy adults ( Strøm-Tejsen, et.al., 2016; Mishra et.al., 2018; Fan et.al., 2023; Aarts et al., 2019) and Light therapy on people with dementia (Tan et.al., 2022).<br/>In general, many older adults experience sleep disorders and disturbances (Gulia &amp; Kumar, 2018), which are even more prevalent among older people with dementia (PwD) (Pao, 2019). Approximately 60-70% of PwD experience sleep disturbances (Petrovsky et al., 2018), significantly impacting their quality of life and functional abilities. This also increases the burden of care on informal caregivers (Ooms &amp; Ju, 2016). Underlying medical issues, such as pain, dyspnea, cardiac failure, and delirium can worsen sleeping disorders in PwD. Disrupted sleep patterns can also cause reduced wakefulness during the day (circadian rhythm disorder) (Stroomer-van Wijk et al., 2016), which affects activity engagement throughout the day and can lead to more sleeplessness throughout the night.<br/>In addition, nighttime activities are often unsafe for PwDs and are associated with a higher risk of falls and difficulties in assessing care support. Most PwD live in the community with the support of an informal caregiver (Greenwood &amp; Smith, 2019). While caring for a person with dementia can strengthen the relationship (Lindeza et al., 2020), it also leads to mental and physical stress. Therefore, undisturbed sleep is an important asset in the lives of PwD and their informal caregiver(s).<br/>In a pilot study, an approach developed to assess the IEQ and interventions to support the sleep quality in the home environment of community-living people with dementia has been evaluated. The approach consists, amongst others, of an intervention during the day to support people with dementia to achieve a balanced day structure and measuring the IEQ during the night to gain insight into a) the IEQ and b) the possible effectiveness of interventions in thermal, light and indoor air quality.