How to Use Light to Your Advantage
Hello, friends!
I hope you're all "hanging in there" during these strange times. I'm looking forward to getting back to giving acupuncture sessions, hopefully within the next few weeks! When Alameda County enters "stage two" of reopening I will see you back in the clinic. Stay tuned! :)
In my last email I shared some of Dr. Satchin Panda's research on how circadian rhythms affect health. This time I want to tell you more about some of his recommendations for adjusting your daily light levels to help improve your body's circadian response.
Daytime Activities
Dr. Panda notes that our body is designed to initiate the day based on an influx of bright light (through the eye's blue light sensor), and to wind down towards sleep based on a lack of light (blue light, in particular). Our body has evolved to be optimized to receive outdoor daytime light, which ranges from 1,000 lux on a cloudy day to 200,000 lux on a sunny day. Our typical indoor environments range between 10-100 lux.
Why does this matter? Our circadian rhythms rely on morning bright light to:
1. Stop producing melatonin (your sleep-inducing hormone)
2. Increase cortisol (the stress-related hormone that should peak in the morning to optimize alertness)
3. Instigate brain functions related to learning and memory, which peak in mid- to late-morning
4. Improve your mood overall
Limited exposure to natural light during the day increases the likelihood of low moods and difficulty making good decisions. Bright light exposure in your home and office boosts mood, productivity, and alertness.
During the day, Dr. Panda recommends:
Eating breakfast and lunch outside or next to a large window
Walking outside in the morning -- walking to work, getting off public transit a stop early, or walking around the block with your morning tea/coffee; or these days just stepping outside the house is a start!
Sitting next to the largest window available at your work/school/home
Nighttime Activities
Dr. Panda's team was responsible for discovering the blue light sensor in the eye which tells the brain when it's morning and when it's night. Exposure to blue light, in particular, throws off our ability to sleep well in the evenings. The best adaptations you can make to reduce your exposure to light in the evening include:
Switching to task lighting (lighting your work area and therefore reducing direct exposure to your eyes)
Using your phone's "nightshift" feature to reduce blue light emission. Children and teens may be particularly sensitive to blue light in the evening, as studies indicate that children with increased screen time are more likely to have poor sleep quality and problematic behaviors.
Using dimmer switches
Wearing blue light filtering eyeglasses during the three to four hours before bedtime
Changing your light bulbs at home to amber-colored bulbs in the rooms where you spend time in the evening
Ensuring that nightlights for your children are on the red light spectrum rather than blue light. This has been shown to increase sleeping time by up to an hour!
If you're still not convinced to make some modifications, it may help to know that cellular repair and the cleaning out of the brain's metabolic waste occurs at night and is optimized during sleep. Consistent good sleep is presumed to prevent dementia.
If you're curious to learn more about the ambient light in your environments, check out free apps like myLuxRecorder.
I hope you've been finding these tips helpful! I look forward to seeing your faces soon in the clinic.
With love,
Janet
