Blue Light Improves Alertness And Performance
Today when I was sitting in the blue light from my projector trying to get it to communicate with my computer I suddenly remembered that I had read something about out alertness and blue light some time ago.
This is an article about the subject.
Tired people everywhere may need not resort to a cup of coffee or an energy drink anymore. That is, if they’re able to expose themselves to an abundance of blue light. A new study finds that short-wavelength blue light — as opposed to white or red — can increase alertness and performance during the day.
Many studies have looked at the effects of using our cell phones into the night on our biological clocks, also known as our circadian rhythms. For the most part, they’ve found that the blue light emitted from our devices blocks production of the sleep hormone melatonin. While it does this, it also activates brain neurons responsible for alertness. It makes sense then, that if we were to expose ourselves to this light during the day, our bodies would be affected in the same way.
“Our previous research has shown that blue light is able to improve alertness during the night, but our new data demonstrates that these effects also extend to daytime light exposure,” said Dr. Shadab Rahman, a researcher in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in a press release. Blue light sources include daylight, our devices’ screens, and some energy-efficient bulbs. Blue light has been shown to suppress melatonin for twice as long as green light, while also shifting circadian rhythms by about three hours. For people who are trying to stay up, this should be great news.Tired people everywhere may need not resort to a cup of coffee or an energy drink anymore.
Sounds good to me! When winter comes and it´s getting darker, I´ll try to fix some blue light sources here in the studio. Hopefully it´s gonna make me more alert.
