Adaptation of the orthorexia beliefs scale into Turkish: a validity and reliability study.

Preoperative anxiety is highly prevalent, yet frequently overlooked in perioperative care, affecting between 10% and 80% of surgical patients depending on the procedure and assessment method. Expectations, information quality, and uncertainty are recognized determinants of perioperative emotional distress [; ]. Traditionally managed through pharmacological means, anxiety reduction strategies rarely incorporate environmental design factors (; ). Research in environmental psychology and neuroscience indicates that light exposure can modulate circadian rhythms, emotional states, and autonomic nervous system activity (; ). Short-wavelength (blue) light, in particular, interacts with intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells and neural pathways that regulate alertness and stress responses (; ; ). From a design perspective, lighting is a modifiable environmental parameter that may support patient comfort, safety, and overall satisfaction in healthcare settings. Immersive colored light offers a low-cost, non-invasive intervention with potential to enhance the healing environment. Although colored light exposure has previously been investigated in environmental psychology and autonomic regulation research, very few studies have evaluated immersive colored lighting as a perioperative environmental intervention. In particular, the acute effects of colored light on both subjective anxiety and heart rate variability in patients immediately awaiting surgery remain insufficiently explored. Reduced HRV has consistently been associated with anxiety, impaired emotional regulation, and increased physiological stress, supporting its use as a surrogate marker of autonomic adaptation (). This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and physiological impact of colored light immersion inpatients awaiting cataract surgery. This pilot study was approved by the institutional ethics committee (ref CPP Ouest 6 – 1214 MS2 – December 21, 2021). Written informed consent was obtained. Eligible participants were adults scheduled for elective cataract surgery. Exclusion criteria included beta-blocker treatment or pacemaker. Cataract surgery patients were specifically selected because they remain conscious throughout the perioperative pathway and frequently experience anticipatory anxiety despite the minimally invasive nature of the procedure. Participants were exposed to six colors (blue, green, purple, red, orange, yellow) using LED projectors (MINIKOLOR Starway) controlled via computer, in randomized sequence, each for 10 min. Ambient light served as control. In this study, immersive colored light referred to full-room ambient illumination generated by ceiling-directed LED projectors producing a uniform colored environment around the seated participant. The intervention did not involve wearable devices, goggles, or focal visual stimulation. Participants sat in a comfortable chair under uniform ceiling-directed illumination (see ). Each lighting condition was administered for 10 minutes. This duration was selected to remain compatible with routine preoperative workflows while providing sufficient time for participants to perceive the environmental change and for potential autonomic responses to emerge. Subjective anxiety was evaluated using a Verbal Analog Scale (VAS) administered immediately before and after each light immersion. VAS is a validated and widely used instrument for the measurement of subjective anxiety ().