About this trial
The "polytrauma clinical triad" (PCT), a highly disabling constellation of factors, is defined by the coexistence of traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic pain. Veterans with the PCT are medically complex, often refractory to conventional therapies, and suffer from additional related chronic sequela. Notably, sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment, which the investigators hypothesize are significant contributing factors to these functional impairments and an impediment toward rehabilitation. Thus, the investigators' research aims to intervene "at the level of sleep", and by improving sleep, improve these interconnected, disabling, and difficult to treat enduring complexities associated with the PCT - ultimately to improve Veteran quality of life, functional independence, and restorative function. The investigators predict that the proposed intervention, morning bright light therapy, which is cost-effective, rapidly deployable and home-based, will be effective in improving sleep and overall PCT symptom management, thereby, resulting in a measurable and impactful improvement in quality of life.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Veteran
English speaking with phone and internet access
Current self-reported sleep disturbances
Clinical stable for current pharmacologic or behavioral health treatments for depression, anxiety, sleep and pain
Disqualifiers
Decisional impairment and/or dementia
Current usage of a lightbox or negative ion generator
Shift work
History of macular degeneration and/or bipolar disorder
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Morning Bright Light Therapy
- Negative Ion Generator