Circadian rhythm and sleep disorders: Blue LEDs to the rescue

July 8, 2009

At the LED Workshop last April, our keynote speaker, Cary Eskow, spoke of how a room’s lighting could alter the occupant’s mood, and facilities like hotels or hospitals can exploit this to provide a better customer experience.

RPI Light affects our circadian rhythm, the 24-hour day-night biochemical cycle that governs human metabolism, and research indicates that different light frequencies affect circadian rhythms, and thus sleep patterns, among other health-related aspects.

From a Forbes article: “In 1991, it was discovered that there are special light receptor cells in our retina wired directly to the central clock in our brains that regulates our circadian rhythm. It has since been discovered that those cells are receptive to different types of light than the rod and cone receptors that allow us to see.”

Mariana Figueiro, director of the Light and Health Program at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, calls them Blue Sky receptors because they’re sensitive to bright, intense light on the blue or short wavelength part of the visible light spectrum. RPI’s research indicates that if we don’t get a strong exposure to bright, blue light in the morning, it can delay our circadian rhythm, making it hard to fall asleep that night. This can be especially hard on older people’s sleep patterns, where extended time spent indoors and the effects of aging on the eyes and the brain combine to really screw up the circadian rhythm.

Blue LEDs to the rescue: “…Dr. Figueiro experimented with a new technique. She used battery-powered blue LEDs on the top edge of safety glasses that patients [in a local nursing home] could wear for an hour or two a day. A preliminary study with 11 subjects showed that the light suppressed their levels of melatonin—a naturally occurring hormone that is produced at night—suggesting that the glasses could help regulate the body’s clock.”

Sleep problems can affect all of us, not just the elderly. Blue light therapy holds promise as a safe, cheap alternative to drugs.

Posted by Margery Conner on July 8, 2009 | Comments (5)

September 17, 2009

In response to: Circadian rhythm and sleep disorders: Blue LEDs to the rescue
Jennifer commented:

Hi my son suffers from not being able to sleep at night and does not fall asleep until 3.00am then cannot wake up until around 4.00pm it has been going on for a long time and the doctors put him on depression tablets, starting off at a low dose and now increased to 40mg, which has done no good whatsoever. I have insisted he goes back to the doctors and discusses Circadian rhythm sleep with them if they know what it is.

August 13, 2009

In response to: Circadian rhythm and sleep disorders: Blue LEDs to the rescue
merk commented:

I'm gung-ho for blue light therapy - I built an intense blue (470 nm), wide angle, reading light for my wife because she has Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) every winter. She reads the newspaper or a book for an hour when she awakens so the blue reading light provides the blue light therapy she needs. It also avoids the danger that looking directly at intense blue light may cause Macular Degeneration. These blue light glasses may be a problem for that reason.

July 10, 2009

In response to: Circadian rhythm and sleep disorders: Blue LEDs to the rescue
Jet commented:

I have a severe problem with insomnia ever since I was quite young from sexual abuse by mother then step father. I'd always sleep in after they'd come to my room the night before around 1-4 am, and I never could get to sleep until they'd leave, so even nights when they didn't show up, I was stressed waiting for them to show up. I've tried meds (tri-cyclics) which I've become allergic to as well as OTC remedies and Homeopathic remedies with no relief and now I'm 55 yo and really need to get my insomnia under control and the doctors say a sleep study won't help me. I do not have sleep apnea or anything like that. Do you think the lights would help me? How would I go about purchasing them? I could really use the sleep--figuratively and literally--my health and relationships are suffering. Thanks. Jet

July 8, 2009

In response to: Circadian rhythm and sleep disorders: Blue LEDs to the rescue
JNGinABQ commented:

Spectrum balance can affect mood and productivity, too. Some of the "watt-saver" flourescent tubes are so yellowish that some people find the lighting despressing, which can affect productivity and mood. The "daylight" or "high-color-rendering" CFLs and tubes seem to produce a more natural ambience that can enhance productivity, and assist in keepping the circadian rythms in balance.

July 8, 2009

In response to: Circadian rhythm and sleep disorders: Blue LEDs to the rescue
or for flight jet lag commented:

Could be useful. Wonder if Boeing plans to alter their variable lighting in similar fashion on 787

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