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Has anyone tested bright indoor lighting and its effect on their own sleep. I have some LED studio lights for video work by my desk all the time. I'm wondering

by graeme 7y ago

Has anyone tested bright indoor lighting and its effect on their own sleep. I have some LED studio lights for video work by my desk all the time. I'm wondering if I should just turn them on while I work each morning. From what I can tell: 1. LEDs won't cause sunburn/skin damage 2. There's no blue light risk of them if they're not rates above a certain level of light output and you don't stare directly at them. I have to check the light rating, but it seems like there shouldn't be negative side effects to this. My new apartment gets little direct sunlight, so I've been feeling daytime darkness more acutely.

ehnto 7y ago
LEDs could still have all the same issues, it depends on the LED and it's particular output spectrum and the energies for each wavelength. I would check all that before concluding they would be good or bad.
- NKosmatos 7y ago
  Exactly! Blue light doesn't mean just the colour of the light, but the wavelength, power output, flicker rate and so on. It's a good step, but pay attention to details ;-)
- graeme 7y ago
  Which same issues - do you mean some LEDs emit UV?
  - Tade0 7y ago
    They (usually) don't, but they do have a peak at blue frequencies[0]. [0] https://i.stack.imgur.com/lkyXG.png https://i.stack.imgur.com/lkyXG.png
    - graeme 7y ago
      Yeah. I think a high CRI would be what you'd want for this purpose. Those aim to match sunlight.
bitL 7y ago
I bought a huge 10,000 lux lamp that was supposed to emit similar wavelengths to daylight because I found myself to be a bit sleepy during winters all day long. That one managed to "wake me up" and I ended up as productive as in summer. Some people also use it to alleviate their seasonal depression (never had that). I have it illuminating my workspace behind my back. I believe our eyes have some special "wake up" receptors that react to sunrise and this type of lamp seems to engage them.
- AdrianB1 7y ago
  Can you provide some details on that lamp, especially power consumption? It seems an interesting experiment that I would like to try.
  - randcraw 7y ago
    I have one of these, but honestly haven't used it enough to assess it. It seems well made and bright enough to make a difference without being intolerable. I think it draws 14 watts. Verilux HappyLight VT43 Luxe 10,000 Lux LED Bright White Light Therapy Lamp ($100) https://verilux.com/products/happylight-luxe https://verilux.com/products/happylight-luxe
- graeme 7y ago
  Interesting. Why behind rather than in front? And which type did you get?
  - bitL 7y ago
    The light is very strong even while diffuse, having it behind my back doesn't hurt my eyes and the effect is same. It's a non-LED one, not sure what is inside but it initially took 10 minutes to light up fully (now it's instant, probably some firmware for initial burn-in). I'll have to find box somewhere to tell you exact type.
    - graeme 7y ago
      Ah makes sense. Just checked mine and it's 3360 lux, so yours is 3x stronger. I checked daylight, sunlight is 100,000 lux, and shade on a day with clear sky is 20,000. Our indoor lighting is way off! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072Q42GXQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.FlPDb460MRN2 https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072Q42GXQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.Fl...
Doxin 7y ago
Plural of anecdote doesn't make data, but I've got one for you in any case: I used to suffer quite badly from winter dips, I've since installed a IKEA Floalt panel right next to my desk. I turn it on when I sit down and turn it off when I'm done for the day. I run it at full brightness at the medium color temperature (which is still fairly reddish in my opinion). Since then it definitely seems that my winter dips have gotten significantly less severe, though actual sunlight still seems to work better. Now all that said I'm aware it might just be a placebo effect, but honestly if a placebo stops me getting all gloomy I'm all for it. To me at least it seems that my winter dips are heavily influenced simply by environment brightness.
asdff 7y ago
In college I lived in a windowless room for a year. I would have to get a light on a timer to flick on when I wanted to wake up, or else I'd wake up completely delirious at like 1-2pm rather than around 9am. I eventually switched to a full spectrum bulb and that helped with waking up a lot.

by graeme 7y ago

ehnto 7y ago

LEDs could still have all the same issues, it depends on the LED and it's particular output spectrum and the energies for each wavelength. I would check all that before concluding they would be good or bad.

NKosmatos 7y ago
Exactly! Blue light doesn't mean just the colour of the light, but the wavelength, power output, flicker rate and so on. It's a good step, but pay attention to details ;-)
graeme 7y ago
Which same issues - do you mean some LEDs emit UV?
- Tade0 7y ago
  They (usually) don't, but they do have a peak at blue frequencies[0]. [0] https://i.stack.imgur.com/lkyXG.png https://i.stack.imgur.com/lkyXG.png
  - graeme 7y ago
    Yeah. I think a high CRI would be what you'd want for this purpose. Those aim to match sunlight.

bitL 7y ago

I bought a huge 10,000 lux lamp that was supposed to emit similar wavelengths to daylight because I found myself to be a bit sleepy during winters all day long. That one managed to "wake me up" and I ended up as productive as in summer. Some people also use it to alleviate their seasonal depression (never had that). I have it illuminating my workspace behind my back. I believe our eyes have some special "wake up" receptors that react to sunrise and this type of lamp seems to engage them.

AdrianB1 7y ago
Can you provide some details on that lamp, especially power consumption? It seems an interesting experiment that I would like to try.
- randcraw 7y ago
  I have one of these, but honestly haven't used it enough to assess it. It seems well made and bright enough to make a difference without being intolerable. I think it draws 14 watts. Verilux HappyLight VT43 Luxe 10,000 Lux LED Bright White Light Therapy Lamp ($100) https://verilux.com/products/happylight-luxe https://verilux.com/products/happylight-luxe
graeme 7y ago
Interesting. Why behind rather than in front? And which type did you get?
- bitL 7y ago
  The light is very strong even while diffuse, having it behind my back doesn't hurt my eyes and the effect is same. It's a non-LED one, not sure what is inside but it initially took 10 minutes to light up fully (now it's instant, probably some firmware for initial burn-in). I'll have to find box somewhere to tell you exact type.
  - graeme 7y ago
    Ah makes sense. Just checked mine and it's 3360 lux, so yours is 3x stronger. I checked daylight, sunlight is 100,000 lux, and shade on a day with clear sky is 20,000. Our indoor lighting is way off! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072Q42GXQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.FlPDb460MRN2 https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072Q42GXQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.Fl...

Doxin 7y ago

Plural of anecdote doesn't make data, but I've got one for you in any case: I used to suffer quite badly from winter dips, I've since installed a IKEA Floalt panel right next to my desk. I turn it on when I sit down and turn it off when I'm done for the day. I run it at full brightness at the medium color temperature (which is still fairly reddish in my opinion). Since then it definitely seems that my winter dips have gotten significantly less severe, though actual sunlight still seems to work better. Now all that said I'm aware it might just be a placebo effect, but honestly if a placebo stops me getting all gloomy I'm all for it. To me at least it seems that my winter dips are heavily influenced simply by environment brightness.

asdff 7y ago

In college I lived in a windowless room for a year. I would have to get a light on a timer to flick on when I wanted to wake up, or else I'd wake up completely delirious at like 1-2pm rather than around 9am. I eventually switched to a full spectrum bulb and that helped with waking up a lot.