“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” – Irish Proverb
The evidence for the health benefits of adequate, restful sleep is overwhelming. Decades of research has shown that sleeping between 7 and 9 hours per night can relieve stress, reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, improve memory and cognitive function, and may even help with weight loss. (1) As many of us know by now, getting adequate, high-quality sleep is one of the most important, yet under-appreciated steps you can take to improve your overall health and well-being.
Yet for all we know about the benefits of sleep, there are millions of Americans who are still suffering from disordered sleep and insomnia. More than one-third of Americans report getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night, and 63 percent of Americans say their sleep needs are not being met during the week. (2, 3) The negative effects of sleep deprivation are serious: sleep durations that are consistently shorter than 7 hours in a 24-hour period are associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors, depression, automobile and workplace accidents, learning and memory problems, and an overall increase in mortality. (4) Some may argue that poor sleep can even undo the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise routine. (5, 6)
Could using electronics at night ruin your sleep and increase your risk of death and disease?#chriskresser #healthylifestyle #artificiallight #bluelight
So what’s causing this epidemic of sleep disruption in our country? Many experts feel that our excessive use of communications technology (e.g. cell phones, laptops, television, etc.) is driving this significant level of sleep deprivation. If this is the case, it’s no wonder so many Americans struggle with poor sleep, since 95 percent have reported using some type of electronics at least a few nights a week within the hour before bed. (7) Checking email, watching your favorite late-night comedian, or responding to a text message in bed seems harmless enough, but the sleep disruption caused by these light-emitting devices is significant and potentially harmful to your health.
Research has demonstrated that nighttime light exposure suppresses the production of melatonin, the major hormone secreted by the pineal gland that controls sleep and wake cycles. (8) Therefore, a reduction in melatonin at night is associated with subjective levels of sleeplessness. (9, 10) But melatonin suppression has far worse consequences than simply poor sleep outcomes: it has also been shown to increase the risk of cancer, impair immune system function, and possibly lead to cardiometabolic consequences such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and heart disease. (11, 12, 13)
Blue Light and Melatonin Suppression
It is well established that short-wavelength or “blue” light is the most melatonin-suppressive; this is the type of light typically emitted by devices such as televisions, computer screens, and cellphones. (14, 15) To produce white light, these electronic devices must emit light at short wavelengths, close to the peak sensitivity of melatonin suppression. (16) This means that products such as tablets, smartphones, and other devices with self-luminous electronic displays are major sources for suppressing melatonin at night, thereby reducing sleep duration and disrupting sleep. (Figure credit: Wood et al, 2013)
Along with blue light emitted from electronic devices, research has shown that being exposed to normal levels of room lighting can have similar negative effects on melatonin. One study showed that one hour of moderately bright light exposure (1000 lux) was sufficient to suppress nocturnal melatonin to daytime levels. (17) Since melatonin suppression is intensity dependent, researchers suggest that lower intensities can have similar suppression effects at longer durations; for example, two hours at 500 lux would have a similar effect as one hour at 1000 lux. (For examples of lux values, check out this helpful chart.) This means that typical room light alone can have a similar suppressing effect on melatonin secretion as the light from backlit screens. (18)
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How to Prevent Melatonin Disruption (Without Tossing Your iPhone)
There are a few possible solutions for reducing your exposure to blue light at night. One that is commonly used in the ancestral health community is f.lux, a program that makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day. This program can be installed on computers, iPads, and iPhones, and may have a significant effect on your melatonin secretion when using these devices at night. The best part about this program is that it turns on automatically in response to the daylight in your particular time zone, so there’s no need to remember any adjustments to the screen.
A better option, in my opinion, is to use amber-lensed goggles once the sun has gone down. These blue-blocking lenses are highly effective in reducing the effects of blue light exposure, and in most cases completely eliminate the short-wavelength radiation necessary for nocturnal melatonin suppression. (22, 23, 24) These goggles have been shown to improve sleep quality as well as mood, simply by blocking blue light and simulating physiologic darkness.
The main reason I recommend using these goggles is because normal room light alone is enough to suppress melatonin at night, and unless you’re shutting off all the lights in your house when the sun sets, you’re still at risk for disrupting your melatonin-driven circadian rhythms. (25) While f.lux is a useful tool for your backlit devices, it’s nearly impossible to address all sources of melatonin-suppressing light in today’s world of modern technology and late-night work and entertainment habits. Amber-colored goggles are one of the only tools available to completely eliminate all blue light exposure at night, without ‘going off the grid’ and powering down your entire house after 7 PM.
There are two excellent (and cheap!) options for amber-lensed goggles on Amazon. The cheapest and most popular option is the Uvex brand, but if you wear eyeglasses you’ll need to get a wraparound pair like the Solar Shield brand. I’ve had many patients swear by these goggles, and if you can get over the dorkiness factor, you may find they make a big difference in your sleep quality, and perhaps even your general health and wellbeing as well!
Better supplementation. Fewer supplements.
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Great Low Blue Light products at http://www.sleepzzz.ca
Yeah, the skin thing was debunked. Easy to check, just ‘oogle for:
melatonin light skin knees
First hit is from 2002, reporting that.
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/08_02/bright_knees.shtml
which includes links to both studies
I came across this interesting youtube on a new house design: Adaptive Circadian Lighting — Honda Smart Home US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBFogZRsazM&feature=share
“The LED lighting used throughout Honda Smart Home is… designed to support the health and wellness of the home’s occupants. Honda worked with researchers from the California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis to explore new circadian color control logic. Mimicking…”
Another matter here will connect with these next two links:
https://ssl3.ama-assn.org/apps/ecomm/PolicyFinderForm.pl?site=www.ama-assn.org&uri=%2fresources%2fhtml%2fPolicyFinder%2fpolicyfiles%2fHnE%2fH-135.932.HTM
and
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23953362
The AMA has tracked this lighting issue for decades, and now with a policy and additional reporters, the future matter is Health Insurance RATE driven by questions on their form, e.g. where you work and time of day hours, lighting type used at home, viewable electronics used, etc.
There are more angles to this, and those of us having experience with those forms may explain prices and their different reasons. Next our lighting will require a rating system to define usage and its hours.
This is a great article, thanks! I’ve only discovered the significance of blue light this week – comparing this to the volume of replies, I’m wondering where I’ve been. 🙂
Don’t know whether I can suggest a book? But I’ll have a go, considering what the book contains. It was written by Richard HanslerMD who’s one of the bluelightcompany.com’s founders. Its packed with scientific data from research, it’s not a light read – but one I think would be appreciated by this website’s readers.
The book’s on Amazon and is just over a dollar.
Another Weightloss Gimmick? Maybe Not : Eliminate Blue Light – Maximize Melatonin – Develop Brown Fat – Burn White Fat.
Well, I’ve been sending this information to my local city council office for a year or more.
This week the city started replacing the streetlights with the blue-white LED lamps.
Lesson learned: industry has a huge backlog of the blue-white LEDs and they’re pushing them out the door at fire sale prices, telling cities that the savings in electricity will pay for the whole replacement process. I heard back that the city engineer asked their LED supplier about the health problems I raised and was reassured that the blue-white LEDs are “industry standard” for replacing streetlights.
It’s true that the old blue-white LEDs cost less electricity to run.
By asuming there’s no cost to anyone from the health effects, so there’s no later cost of filtering or replacing these LED lights, which will last 30 years — then putting them in can be a no-brainer decision by city government.
Oh, wait …
In other news, safer LED streetlights are already coming on the market:
“Color temperature, intensity and blue spectrum of the light affects the ganglion receptors in human brain stimulating the human nervous system. With this work we review different methods for obtaining tunable light emission spectra ….”
http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/proceeding.aspx?articleid=1838138
” Thermal, optical, and electrical engineering of an innovative tunable white LED light engine “, Proc. SPIE 9003, Light-Emitting Diodes: Materials, Devices, and Applications for Solid State Lighting XVIII, 90031B (February 27, 2014); doi:10.1117/12.2040599; http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2040599
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/07420528.2013.842925
Light at night and melatonin have opposite effects on breast cancer tumors in mice assessed by growth rates and global DNA methylation
February 2014, Vol. 31, No. 1 , Pages 144-150 (doi:10.3109/07420528.2013.842925)
Hey Hank, I really want to thank you for your comments here and over at psycheducation; they’ve helped fill in a lot of the blanks for me regarding the whole topic of light & health.
One question I would like to ask: do you have any knowledge on how much UV radiation is emitted by TV and computer screens? I anticipate your answer for TV’s will be “It depends what type of TV.” I have a flat screen LCD TV. My computer is a laptop, which of course is also LCD. (As I’ve been able to gather from Patrick Mullins’ posts, all LCD’s are back-lit by LED’s, which I imagine must play into the equation of this particular issue)
My thoughts on this, as much as I’ve gathered so far researching light, is that for LCD TV’s – even if there are any UV rays – that it’s probably a non-issue unless you sit 6 inches away from the screen. My particular thinking for this is that if you read the article & reader comments for the following link, you’ll see in the comments section that the author of the article indicates to a reader that the intensity of red & infrared wavelengths diminishes the farther back from the lights you are: (this article & the reader comments is a great read in itself)
http://180degreehealth.com/red-light-infrared-radiation-powerful-healing-tools-youve-heard/
However, I could be completely wrong, as red & infrared are at the other end of the spectrum – I’m welcome to being corrected – perhaps the higher energies of the shorter wavelengths allow them to travel further whilst maintaining their intensity.
With laptops/computers on the other hand, since we do sit really close to these screens, I’m guessing if indeed LCD’s/LED’s emit UV rays then it’s probably pretty important to filter them out?
I did read your comment that you lay the roscolux uv filter #3114 over your screens along with the #23 orange filter. I just want to know if this is totally necessary with TV’s, because I live in Australia and I’m in the process at the moment of trying to find a supplier that will cut-to-size the roscolux filter gels; so far I’ve only been told that the only option is to buy a whole roll which is upwards of $150 without even adding on shipping. I’m not particularly concerned about it for my laptop as I’ve got some Uvex S1933X’s coming in the mail. (if anyone is wondering why I don’t just use the Uvex for TV as well as computer, it’s just a personal comfort thing – I’m willing to spend a little bit of dough for the sake of more comfortability when unwinding at night.)
Anyway man, get back to me. Thanks dude.
*on a sidenote, if you happen to know of any websites where you can directly order custom sizes of roscolux, please let me know
If you wear the blue-blocking glasses, you won’t need any filters on the computer or tv monitors. Low Blue Lights.com’s lab have the best products… from the glasses to light bulbs to filters. You can trust the quality and effectiveness of blocking only the blue. I called them to personally talk to their engineers and have been following their products for years.
Filter gels — look not by the name Rosco but rather ask generally, at photography suppliers and theatrical suppliers. There are several other companies that also make color filter gels, usually in a standard rectangular size that fits standard holders used in both photography and theater.
UV — don’t know.
Good recent review article:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.21218/full
Breast cancer and circadian disruption from electric lighting in the modern world
Richard G. Stevens, George C. Brainard et al.
Article first published online: 24 DEC 2013
DOI: 10.3322/caac.21218
Issue CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
Volume 64, Issue 3, pages 207–218, May/June 2014
— excerpt follows —-
In 1980, the first clear evidence was published in Science that ocular exposure to bright white light during the night could suppress melatonin production in young adults.[31] Since that seminal report, great detail has emerged on the impact of wavelength, intensity, duration, and time of night on the acute suppression of melatonin production by light. Similarly, much more is understood about how light resets the timing of the circadian clock and the rhythms it controls, often measured from the timing of the melatonin rhythm but also including cortisol, core body temperature, and circadian gene expression.
Initially, it was thought that bright light, at least 2500 lux, was required for melatonin suppression in humans.[31] More recently, however, it has been shown that, under carefully controlled conditions, retinal exposure to illuminances of as low as 1 lux or less of monochromatic light at wavelength 440 to 460 (blue-appearing light) can significantly lower nocturnal melatonin,[32, 33] as can <100 lux of broad-spectrum fluorescent light.[34-37] These same light levels can also elicit significant phase shifts of the circadian clock and directly enhance alertness[37-40]; approximately 100 lux exposure will cause about 50% of the maximum response. Such light exposure, when experienced in the evening at home from bedside lamps, TVs, computer screens, tablets, and other devices, causes suppression of melatonin, delays the timing of circadian rhythms, and elevates alertness, all of which make it harder to fall asleep, make it harder to wake up in the morning, and restrict sleep.[36, 41]
The physiological mechanism by which light exposure is conveyed to the circadian system is one of the more intriguing topics in modern biology ….
——-
150 citations, many of them linked, at the main article:
Enhanced Article (HTML)
PDF (160K)
> Randall Glass
> January 6, 2014 at 5:18 am
> Been doing some more research…..
Would you cite your sources for the statements you posted?
From what I’ve read things are a bit less simple than what you’ve written there.
>melatonin
You can look this stuff up: ‘oogled: melatonin microgram
(yours may differ, Google gives each user different results, so if you want to get unbiased results flush cache, use a VPN and don’t be signed in or accepting cookies from Google — they show you what you’re most likely to have been looking for, which can be very misleading if you’re searching for medical or scientific information):
First 2 hits:
Products: What is the proper dose of melatonin? – Life …
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2001/may2001_products.htm
This article was based on anecdotal reports from some members who stated they had better sleep patterns when taking 500 microgram melatonin rather than …
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Melatonin Timed Release …
http://www.amazon.com/Melatonin-Timed…/B000X9L8ZE
Amazon.com
I was happy to find a time-release capsule of a low dose (300 micrograms) of melatonin. The megadoses of melatonin that one typically finds at drugstores are …
==========
National Sleep Foundation:
http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/melatonin-and-sleep/page/0%2C1/
“…Because it is not categorized as a drug, synthetic melatonin is made in factories that are not regulated by the FDA. Listed doses may not be controlled or accurate, meaning the amount of melatonin in a pill you take may not be the amount listed on the package. Most commercial products are offered at dosages that cause melatonin levels in the blood to rise to much higher levels than are naturally produced in the body. Taking a typical dose (1 to 3 mg) may elevate your blood melatonin levels to 1 to 20 times normal. Side effects do not have to be listed on the product’s packaging. Yet, fatigue and depression have occasionally been reported with use of melatonin. …”
Links and full text at the source.
Seriously.
“It’s a poor kind of memory that only works backwards” as the — The White Queen, in Through the Looking-Glass.
When we post medical advice to the Internet, relying on what we think and remember guarantees outdated information, and sometimes mistakes. That’s not about you or me, it’s about checking what we remember.
People rely on opinions from strangers online.
Do a careful search for current information and provide the links so later readers can check them and do their own updating. There’s always new info.
I found and corrected 2 errors just checking what I thought, as I posted this response.
I’ve been suspicious of “books on electronics” like Kindle or Nook, specifically because of blue light. Since I know many people read before sleep to wind down, I’m guessing they’re not getting the effect they want if using electronic books! Thanks for confirming my gut reaction!
Most eReaders in use today like the Kindle and Nook use eInk that does not project any light so there is no blue light coming from these devices.
This contrasts with tablets, smartphones, and laptops that use LCD screens that do project light. Just to clarify, the Kindle Fire and Nook HD are tablets not eReaders so those devices would shine blue light.
The latest model eReaders such as the Kindle Paperwhite and Nook Glowlight do include built-in LEDs but they can be turned off (or almost off). However the companies are still selling models that don’t include lights so you can get an eReader that doesn’t have a lighted screen.
So with eReaders (and printed books!) you can avoid blue light by using a light fixture with no or low blue light, a reading light with a filter to block blue light, make your own filter and tape it on your book light, or use appropriate colored glasses to block blue light.
If you want to use an app to read ebooks on a tablet, smartphone, or laptop then you will need to put a filter on your screen or use glasses that block blue light.
Great info. I have Twilight installed on my Android phone today and it kicked on the red filter at sundown. But I’m now wondering about my bedroom TV. Wife and I always watch a little TV before bed and then fall asleep with it still on. Is it possible to adjust the color/tint/brightness levels to achieve a desirable effect as far as reducing blue light? My TV has advanced color settings that let’s me control levels of Color, Tint and Brightness for several colors, including blue. Will this help or is it not the same? Don’t really want to use glasses as I spent some decent coin on my eyes so I don’t have to wear lenses anymore 🙂
Replying because I forgot to enable email notifications of replies 🙂
Hello Chris,
Your TV comments raise a very important concern on those gadgets. First determine the technology in use.
Pointer: LED based video devices are less than just flat, they are skinny, meaning a few inches thick at most. The original TV technology is CRT (cathode ray tube) which even for a flat screen, will be maybe as thick as it is wide, e.g. a 20″ flat screen CRT will be 20″ deep. Not very modern in today’s bedroom, except maybe mine.
The point is that CRT has 3 electron beams, one each for red, green and blue phosphors. The only time 460nm is emitted is when that is a necessary pixel in the particular image shown, including white. Color/Tint adjustment on a CRT will control that precisely as desired.
The modern flat screen TV is a mere few inches thick. The common basic version has an LCD layer that selectively switches those R-G-B colors from White LED light behind them. The first important issue is that simple method can be changing by manufacturer any day, so be sure you know which, if making a difference. The basic issue in question gets back to white LEDs which cannot reduce their primary emission of 460nm without reducing their basic white illuminance. All colors on that TV screen came from 460nm generation, then filtered by multi-LCD pixels according to the screen color needed. Color/Tint adjust can merely filter that blue that was already produced.
Is that coincidence? The fundamental emitter of that white LED is precisely the ipRGC trigger (melatonin suppressor).
Using CRT technology is a major reduction of the blue. Variations of color use may need some blue amount. When no blue or white on screen, then no 460nm generated from that pixel phosphor. Remember that “white” is an equal mix of R-G-B levels, regardless of the source.
Removing any blue from white – – guess what color you get.
So I guess the only solution for LCD owners is to either go back to CRT, or use blue-blocker glasses? Is that what I gathered from your response? Great response, btw. Took me a few days to parse it 🙂
Short answer is, yes. But CRT may not solve it.
The LCD merely controls light from behind it, and, today that is from predominantly white LEDs. Today 99% of white LEDs have 450nm chips to drive their phosphor. Ionized gas methods have been done, but there again 450nm wavelength is generated.
The CRT emits nothing till called for on its screen, so some pixels can have 450nm. The solid-state screen has white LEDs going full time.
Mentioned here yesterday was the matter of reading a book from a Kindle (or similar) at night. That white LED screen behind any color text is blasting the retina ipRGC’s a few inches away, with way too much radiation. Melatonin is totally suppressed but eye strain may put you down anyway.
The recent ZzzQuil stuff is merely equiv. of 2 Benadryl tabs, 10% alcohol and High Fructose Corn Syrup. NO melatonin either.
You may need at least 3mg of melatonin to offset those white LEDs. Then create your own version of ZzzQ stuff.
> 3mg of melatonin
Whoah! Don’t do that. You’re confusing milligrams (mg) with micrograms (mcg or “mu”g) here.
You are giving medical advice.
Mark Twain warned about the health effects of believing typographical errors in health writing.
Block the blue light and your body will make the melatonin you need.
Three milligrams is a thousand times more than three micrograms, which is around what you get naturally by blocking the blue light and letting your body work.
3mg of melatonin is a huge overdose.
Hank, perhaps you are confusing blood level with oral capsules or pills OTC.
Purchased melatonin is absolutely milligrams.
You are mistaken. Melatonin is effective dosage is in mg not mcg and you do need 1mg of melatonin at least for any effect.
Mart, thank you for helping with milligram clarification.
Another issue in this line is our Pineal gland has lower production as we get older. I’ve observed those at 85 needing at least 5mg, 1 hour before their bedtime. Worked great. One character played solitaire on a 20″ screen 6″ from his face, and changing that background color and card style was of minimal importance, but those 5mg did the trick.
Nationally known drug and food stores have Melatonin pills in ranges of 1mg through 10mg. We can post here some ages using which dosages that helped on a regular basis. Jet lag, bed-time movies, reading and solitaire are more issues to share.
> I guess the only solution …
Nope.
See above: http://chriskresser.com/how-artificial-light-is-wrecking-your-sleep-and-what-to-do-about-it#comment-435361
Theatrical colored filter gel is cheap; cut to fit each screen, flip it on over each white light sceen device in the evening — and use only low/no blue lights in the house at that time.
Speaking of looking things up: here’s a good start
https://www.google.com/search?q=spectrum+eyes+vision+sleep+melatonin+receptor
Ajay mentioned the Hoya “Vision Protect” eyeglasses coating — -that’s not blocking the blue-green band, which controls sleep. That’s around 400-500nanometers.
The Hoya and other “blue-blockers” are aimed at blocking the high energy blue that does slow cumulative damage over a lifetime — which is down around 400 and shorter, on the way to ultraviolet (the shorter the wavelength the higher the energy of the photons. Once you get into that high energy blue the photons pack enough energy to knock an electron off an atom — that’s where the damage occurs).
I didn’t know about that; I just looked it up:
http://www.visionmonday.com/business/labs/article/protecting-eyes-from-bad-blue-light-vm-090913/
Copied out of my posts at psycheducation a while back, as an example: this is a Rosco orange theatrical filter transmission spectrum. See how almost none of the blue light passes through one sheet of this material.
https://www.rosco.com/images/filters/roscolux/23.jpg
We have sheets of this or other similar ones cut and taped along the top of our monitors, so we can flip them down and they cover the screen without leaking light around the edges.
great info. Where can I order these sheets. I live in Vancouver, BC. Thanks.
LMGTFY:
https://www.google.com/search?q=rosco+vancouver+BC
or any theatrical supplier or good photography store.
Rosco is just one brand, there are other sources of colored filter gels for theatrical use. Shop around locally.
PS, for all the questions about glasses and computer and phone screens — again I’m just a bystander reading here, not an expert. But I’d say:
nobody can answer that for you. Glasses have to fit snugly all around your eyes, not leave a big gap where the blue light comes in. (The blue receptors in the eyeball aren’t at the center, like the receptors used for vision. Instead, they’re located where they detect the color of the sky, more at the top and sides of the field of vision: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&num=100&ie=UTF-8&q=melatonin+visual+receptor+location+retina )
Asking about what your computer or phone emits depends on your exact light source.
Re f.lux, I suggest going to LEDMuseum and asking Craig if he’d recheck it — but that’s on _his_ computer not yours so it’s only a clue.
(If you do use LEDMuseum, a plug from me a bystander — remember, he’s just one guy (disabled, poor, and very smart) who has been doing the world big favors for a long time — I try to donate something to him regularly. Consider doing that.
What Audrey Fischer April 23, 2014 at 10:56 am said:
> The only “safe” way is to put a blue-blocking filter
> on the OUTside.
Amen. See the psycheducation blog and search for “rosco”
> warm white … CRI
Be careful about that, because color temperature “warm white” and CRI refer to the average of all the wavelengths emitted — that affects color rendering.
But there are lots of “warm white” LEDs, almost all of them, that still emit a large amount of blue light — because they’re basically blue emitters coated with phosphors that intercept some of that and re-emit it.
You _have_ to look at the actual spectrum emitted, and see if there’s a spike in it for emission in the 400-500nm range. Even very “warm white” LEDs still have that.
You can look this stuff up, here for example (Japanese but the illustrations are very clear):
http://www.1023world.net/diy/spectra/
Hi
interesting article. I would like to purchase some blue blockers to help with sleep but i need some advice.
Do all blue blockers work and help your sleep?
or does it need to be one of the 2 advertised in the article??
Im considering these ones
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blue-Blocking-Driving-Wayfarers-Sunglasses-Amber-Tinted-Lens/231262536173?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23929%26meid%3D8323157720066726456%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10200%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D231282702172&rt=nc
Will they work as well???
Thanks in advance
Congratulations to Bob Friedman June 30, 2014 for contact with Craig at LEDmuseum to test those filters.
I began collecting info on light and sleep in 2007– still available thanks to a very tolerant blog host: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/03/12/light-and-dark/
There’s a lot there — theatrical filter types; “turtle safe” amber lights; the American Medical Association’s health warning about light at night; and the caution to watch out for your home town’s streetlights being changed out for high-blue-emitting LEDs, there’s a huge marketing push on by the industry to do that before the health effects stop them.
On another note. According to Ray Peat, production of melatonin is a stress response to darkness, nothing that helps one actually sleep. The less melatonin the better. I certainly did not feel any benefit to my sleep by melatonin supplementation. Melatonin
“Many health food stores are now selling melatonin, to induce sleep and “prevent cancer.” They have taken some information out of context, and don’t realize how dangerous melatonin is. It makes the brain sluggish, causes the sex organs to shrink, and damages immunity by shrinking the thymus gland. It is the hormone of darkness and winter, and is produced in the pineal gland by any stress which increases adrenalin. Adequate sun light suppresses the formation of melatonin.” -Ray Peat, PhD
Kris, The copy and paste you made from that Ray Peat forum is itself out of context. It does not match anything in total from the ray peat web site.
That forum has its own protective statement, as follows:
“Disclaimer :
Content and information placed in the Ray Peat Forum does not necessarily reflect the views of Ray Peat Forum. While it is permissible to discuss medically-oriented topics, nothing posted here should in any way be interpreted as authoritative medical advice. While the information provided by knowledgeable members is certainly available for the education of forum members, Ray Peat Forum makes no claim of accuracy and does not endorse suggestions or recommendations set forth here.”
There is far more scientific information about melatonin that can help those interested. Our pineal gland produces melatonin naturally for reasons readily available, and in that Peat site there are actually links to scientists’ work with such.
Have you heard of Jim Gallas, inventor of Melanin Lenses for eyeglasses? He recently formulated a blue blocking Melanin lens designed to promote sleep by absorbing blue light, and protecting the body’s normal level of melatonin production. They are tinted amber, which naturally blocks blue light, but also contain melanin which furthers reduces transmission. I know a few people who swear by them. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11247441.htm
Good discussion and collection of suggestions, thank you.
Notes:
f.lux, unfortunately, doesn’t block the blue emission — that’s the light from either fluorescents or “white” LEDs operating behind the colored pixels but leaks through. Craig at LEDMuseum has spectra for a great many light sources (wonderful site, just one guy’s contribution to the world, worth supporting if you find it useful).
http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/specx333.htm
You can see the big blue light spike there — between 400 and 500nm.
http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/specx02.htm
YMMV of course; babies and older people have less consolidated sleep and more easily get disrupted. Young adults can sleep through anything, mostly. But if you’ve got a baby, try the amber nightlights for night feeding.
We get around fine using amber LED lights and filtered “bug light” compact fluorescents for a few hours in the evening — they can be bright enough to read by and not interfere with sleep, the way our old CFL reading lights did. Look for “turtle safe” lights — the photoreceptor molecule that handles this daylight detection is ancient and shared by many living things.
Hank – Thank you for your reference to the LED Museum with their spectrographic charts showing the big blue light spike of LEDs on the charts. After seeing your post, we submitted our lights with the orange and red clip-on filters to the LED Museum for them to test. Craig has already published his initial analysis (he tested them immediately) and just published his results (http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/46/bnr6.htm). It illustrates that although LED’s do have a lot of blue light, it’s possible to dramatically reduce blue light with simple filters whether snapped on a light, placed on a screen, or by wearing glasses with orange/amber lenses. The “color transform orange” (CTO) filter gels used for lighting in theatres and for and film production would probably work well for a DIY filter.
Bob,
You show a great idea for lighting, especially that used for late night reading near bedtime. A couple hours before sleeping is most critical to eliminate that LED blue spike.
From the test results you show, I suggest amber filtering for a couple reasons. The most common white LEDs naturally have a deep dip between 475nm and 500nm, so having a filter cutoff through that dip will still protect from the blue, and it will help color rendering, and it will allow more illuminance than orange and especially more than red filtering. Eyeglasses are easily available in amber, but not sure about add-on lamp filters.
As Hank said, this can be a great suggestion collection place for more healthful and efficient lighting.