Lighting, Health, Happiness & “Circadian Rhythms”

If you own an iPhone you may have seen a setting called “Night Shift”. Scientists have found that exposure to the backlight on phones, tablets and computers can disrupt our normal sleep cycles. Night shift mode changes the light from a blue tinged white light to a warmer, amber tinged light.

We are biologically attuned to follow the daily lighting cycles of the sun, starting with warm, soft light at sunrise, followed by a crisp, blue tinged, white light that energizes us during the middle of the day, followed by sunset with a soft, warm amber light that relaxes us and prepares us for bed. By spending so much time indoors in artificial light, and by using computers, tablets and mobile phones as much as we do, scientists are now seeing that many of us have sleep disorders and other issues caused by exposure to the “wrong” light at the wrong time of day.

The good news is there are solutions at hand. A few very advanced companies have been developing “circadian” lighting, designed to keep the body’s clock aligned with the daily cycle of the sun by emitting crisp, bluish light during the day that suppresses the chemicals that our brains produce to trigger sleep. As evening approaches, the system adjusts from the mid-day light to a warm amber light, encouraging the production of melatonin and leading to a natural sleep cycle.


Find out more about our lighting solutions here