The secret to a good night sleep – Respect the light and dark
The reason you would benefit from Blue Light blocking glasses!
When we talk about health, most of us would think “move more, eat less” or something along those lines. Not many think of sleep as a key to health and wellness, but it is.
Sleep has strong connection with health – we know that poor sleep leads to weight gain, reduced blood sugar control, increased cancer risk, increased dementia risk, poorer decision making abilities, increased rates of mental health problems. So why do we always focus on “move more, eat less”?
Throughout our entire history (and before that evolution to homo-sapiens) we had one light source – the sun. We then developed fire and that gave us a second light source.
So, for most of our evolution we have existed within a circadian rhythm of light and dark. Not anymore! Now we experience lighting sources from our TVs, computers, phones, the street lamps outside, our own indoor lighting. We are actually become “dark deprived”. This has the potential to cause havoc on our health.
Don’t think you live in a dark deprived world – take a look at this picture
Luckily for us there are easy steps to remedy this:
- Make sure you have dark periods and very bright light periods (more about this later)
- Expose yourself to different light sources i.e. natural light, not always behind a window
- When it is dark outside, make it as dark inside as possible
- Go to bed at a reasonable time
There you have it – respect the light and dark periods of your day and you will regain some aspects of your health.
Please tell me more……..
Okay, so let us go into a little bit more detail, not lots of detail, just a little bit more of explanation.
There are many factors which effect the quality and quantity of sleep, I’m sure you have experienced at least a few! Whether we are talking about stress, anxiety, stimulants like caffeine, working out late, drinking, Bright lighting, eating late, depression, slept during the day – all these things can affect how we sleep.
It is funny to note that we are the only species on the planet that continuously deprives ourselves of sleep – something so crucial to the natural well-being of the species. Every other species on the planet knows the importance of sleep, so they don’t deprive themselves of it.
If we look at one thing from the list (and assume you at normal times, don’t drink coffee in the evening and have normal anxiety levels etc), we can focus on the light. We have light sensors all over our body called “Opsins”, we have the strongest concentration of these in our eyes. Some of these Opsins are crucial for vision, whilst others have a significant impact on hormonal secretions throughout the body – for example melanopsin.
Melanopsin photoreceptors are sensitive to a range of wavelengths and reach peak light absorption at blue light wavelengths around 480 nanometers. So what is 480nm…… blue light, what are the high proportions of light inside your house, your tv, your computer, your phone …….. blue light!
So why is this important?
When light with an appropriate frequency enters the eye, it activates the melanopsin. Stimulation of melanopsin creates a physiological response to light, such as pupil constriction and inhibition of melatonin release from the pineal gland. We are now starting to realise just how important Melanopsin maybe in regulating sleep and wakefulness. Stimulation of this photoreceptor with blue light at the wrong time of day can severely impair sleep quality and quantity.
But you are not just shining blue light in your eye each night are you?
I am going to assume that you answered no to the above question, what do you see in the picture below? Where are there large peaks in some of the light sources commonly found in your home after dark? That’s right, in the blue part.
So – the simplest thing to do to ensure optimal melatonin secretion and good night sleep is to turn the lights off and live via candle light in the evening… right?
Some nights, that is what I do. It is very dark in my living room (and my house in general) and I will listen to an audiobook and make notes (if it’s bright enough) or record thoughts if it’s not.
Now, I understand that having a dark house isn’t something that most people want! So that is why we have blue light blocking glasses.
What do the blue light blocking glasses do?
Good question – as of writing this post, I only sell one type of blue light blocking glasses. These block 99+% of all blue and cyan wavelengths of light. Think back to the pictures and see if that would be helpful. The answer is yes, by blocking 99+% of blue and cyan (and 70+% green) you prevent the stimulation of melanopsin and therefore you allow your melatonin (sleep hormone) to raise naturally.
So for those of you that want the opportunity to get better sleep. You want wake up feeling refreshed and energetic in the mornings, but don’t want sit in darkness at night, perhaps these are good balance?
https://lighttherapy.no/collections/blue-light-blockers/products/100-blue-light-blockers
Links :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047226/