An Investigation into Midnight Lighting for the Elderly

Abstract

As people age, they develop more health problems and suffer a decline in body function that can lead to physiological concerns that younger people do not face. One of those concerns is the issue of nighttime toilet usage-some elderly people go as often as three times in one night. These people must wake up during the night, walk to the bathroom, use the facilities, then return to bed and sleep again. They repeat this pattern 2 or 3 times in one night, reducing the time and quality of their sleep, it becomes harder to fall asleep again, and it also increases the risk of injury due to falls or slips. The purpose of this research was to check a variety of retirement homes and care facilities in and around the Tokyo area to see how they dealt with the issue, and how they used lighting to provide a solution. For this particular study, care was given to the differences of the living environment at each care facility, as well as an analysis of the needs and concerns of the people using those facilities.