The Potential Impact of Next-Generation Blue Light on Sleep Regulation

You may have heard about not spending too much on electronics before going to sleep (A big thing to say, coming from us), or using computers damages your sleep. And we all reluctantly put our devices away, due to blue light. Many devices emit blue light, which is the main culprit for sleep. When this blue light reaches our eyes, well, let's say, it isn't too good for us. Even certain LED lamps can emit blue light! However, there are multiple types of light, some that help you sleep (could be red light through the production of melatonin), and some that harm your sleep cycle, (like blue light). This is just a quick summary of lights and how they affect your eyes. We could go on all day, but let's move on. So, scientists have created a more "human-centric" LED light that can be adjusted to possibly affect your sleep patterns in several different ways. They could affect us in bad ways, (like blue light), or good ways (like red light). Again, this all depends on how we manipulate this light to our control. This newly-made light can increase or decrease drowsiness inside a person, and maybe even put them to sleep! On the other hand, it can increase or decrease the alertness of a person and their body, keeping them fully awake! Both these uses can be beneficial, and/or harmful to someone. Again, it all is up to the way everything has been set up. Even the smallest differences (like the amount of time a person has spent with this new LED before sleep or waking up, depending on the time of day) can affect the result or output, compared to the prediction of the outcome of the initial setup. In fact, the researchers created two bulbs that were inside a larger bulb; one bulb for daytime (to stay awake, increase alertness), and one for night (more melatonin, increase drowsiness). These groundbreaking LED bulbs were also used in an experiment to test the utility of these bulbs, and whether or not they really do work. This is certainly a new and innovative solution for people who want to potentially maximize sleep. Experiment Details: So, in the experiment, the researchers integrated the new LEDs into bulbs. Similar to normal bulbs, these LEDs emitted white light by transforming a small part of the blue light into red and green through these fancy things called embedded phosphors. The newly created LED bulbs were positioned alongside traditional LED bulbs in fixtures attached on the ceiling of a windowless room (just like a normal bulb; on the ceiling!) that including nothing but a desk, treadmill, and bed.

Now, here comes the experiment.

Actual Experiment and Results: Individual male participants inhabited the room for a continuous three-day period. A computer system regulated the activation or deactivation of different LED types during their occupancy. This method enabled the researchers to assess the impact on melatonin levels by comparing conventional bulbs with the new daytime and evening bulbs.

Analysis of saliva samples from 22 volunteers revealed that utilization of the new LEDs resulted in a 12.2% increase in nighttime melatonin levels and a 21.9% reduction in daytime melatonin levels compared to consistent exposure to conventional LED lighting. This proves that the experiment may have worked! However, there are many variables that could have changed the results. Since this experiment was done in a controlled environment, it will have more steady results. After all, we would technically need more trials in order to fully prove that the LEDs worked. It sure would be great if they did! This research was conducted by the National Research Foundation of Korea.