New Blue Light, Circadian Rhythm & Sleep Research w/ Andy Mant

This is related to studies showing that bright light lifts mood by increasing dopamine. However, where these studies are going wrong is exposing people to artificial light boxes and seeing their mood lifted. Our alternative is to remove a lot of the blue light and provide the yellow glow tint to enhance the rest of the spectrum and list mood this way. A few studies I can share but will require the audience to critically analyse, unlike other studies provided

Study on increasing REM sleep with black out sleep mask (also shows cortisol and melatonin differences between control and study groups)https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/earplugs-and-eye-masks-help-promote-sleep

Study on blue light increasing cortisol

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11231993

Show Notes and Key Timestamps

03:10 BLUblox lenses are designed to wear at different times of the day and different situations to help balance hormones, get better sleep, reduce anxiety and stress. In line with peer reviewed studies, BLUblox determined exactly frequencies of light effect sleep, wellness, cortisol, leptin, and insulin.

04:36 After dark, you want to block specific frequencies of light to stop or lower production of cortisol, which allows tryptophan and serotonin to form melatonin. Melatonin puts us to sleep and is a powerful anti-oxidant.

05:19 After dark you need to block 100% of blue light and a large amount of the green spectrum. Most blue blocker glasses are not effectively blocking this.

06:01 You should wear a lens that blocks up to 550 nanometers after dark. Even a small amount of light in the blue range is enough to tone down the secretion of melatonin and heighten cortisol levels.

06:55 During the day, you should not block blue, but filter blue light. Blue light increases cortisol slightly, makes you feel alert and awake.

07:27 Most blue light reduction eyewear focuses on a small segment of the lower end of the blue spectrum, between 400 and 420 nanometers.

07:45 Blue is from 400 to 495 nanometers. LED lights, screen lights, houselights all emit light across the entire blue spectrum and spikes between 440 and 480 nanometers.

08:13 Cell damage in the eye can be caused by the blue range of 440 to 480 nanometers during the day. spike so high during the day. You may experience dry eyes, watery eyes, tension headache, and eye strain. Over time it can lead to macular degeneration.

08:33 LED lights have little blue in the lower 400 to 420 nanometer range. BLUblox has developed a clear lens to wear during the day. It reduces the entire spectrum of blue by about 30%.

09:26 Nature provides the antidote from blue light damage from the sun. The sun also has a high quantity of red light, a healing, restorative light. The sun also has invisible wavelengths like the restorative infrared.

10:06 LED lights and screen lights have next to no red and no invisible light.

10:45 Andy uses red lights in his house. Some of us use salt lamps at our work station to balance out the blue.

11:15 The yellow lens of Summer Glow is for color therapy and blue light blocking. Blue light contributes to anxiety, stress and depression. People with anxiety, stress or depression are more sensitive to blue light and respond well to bright colors. In these lenses, blue light is reduced by 50% and other colors are brightened.

17:41 When your eyes are exposed to blue light, cell damage in the retina happens almost instantaneously. Chronic exposure likely contributes to macular degeneration.

19:48 BLUblox also offers prescription lenses. Many customers swear that using the blue blocking technology in their prescription glasses improves their vision and find themselves coming back again and again with weaker prescriptions.

23:30 The latitude in which your ancestors lived, plays an important part in how you manage light. Those who had to thrive in summer with 20+ hours of light and can handle blue light better, having less impact upon sleep.

30:36 Children are about 95% more susceptible to damage to the retina and inflammation from blue light than adults. Start light management for children at a young age.

34:16 Chronic exposure to blue light in children is shown to contribute to ADHD and ADD.

36:40 Use red lights in baby bedrooms. Go outside in the day. A baby develops a circadian rhythm over the first 6 to 9 months of life.

37:20 Breast milk expressed during the day is high in cortisol. Breast milk expressed after sunset contains no cortisol and is high in levels of melatonin and also tryptophan, a melatonin precursor.

46:15 Your skin can sense blue light. Melanopsin is the blue light sensor concentrated in your retina, but is also present in your skin.

47:38 Your skin has its own independent circadian rhythm.

48:29 A recent study showed that when your skin is no longer exposed to blue light, it goes into a sort of repair mode. Artificial light exposure stops the repair process and brings it into daytime mode. This increased inflammation and decreased cell repair and clearance. It brought accelerated ageing.

49:29 If we cannot put our skin into repair mode because of artificial light, it is not repairing and clearing out dying cells, possibly making us more susceptible to mutation.

53:45 Blue light levels are highest at sunset. It sends a message to your brain that it is the end of blue light. It signals the drop in cortisol and begin melatonin secretion. Your body expects a massive drop in blue light.

56:15 It only takes a few seconds of morning exposure to natural sunlight, even with clouds, to set the circadian rhythm into motion.

57:04 To build melanin, your natural sunscreen and UV absorber, get sunrise light for about an hour.

58:00 Turning on your house lights and looking at your phone before going outside in the morning, gives your body a dose of mid-day sun via electronics and house lights. Thus, you miss out on the hormonal releases.

01:02:03 Using your electronics in the sun mitigates many of the damaging effects. There is a hack to turn your phone red and eliminate blue.

01:03:43 You get a double dose of fat loss if you exercise outside in the morning. Melanopsin is also in your fat cells. Insulin is lower in the morning.

01:05:35 Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Your largest meal should be in the morning. Early in the day, ghrelin is optimal for digestion. Other neuropeptides are in greater abundance earlier in the day.

01:06:56 Eating after dark, in the presence of blue light, insulin levels increase. Digestion interrupts autophagy, apoptosis and adenosine clear out. Deep sleep and REM sleep suffer.

01:11:03 Andy’s Elevator Speech: Globally, the newest light hygiene science should be part of children’s education.