How light affects us
Since the dawn of time, since mankind first celebrated the rise and fall of the great golden orb in our sky, which controls our days, our nights, it has been a legend of gods and worship for millions of years. From early memories, the rays of light that penetrate our bedroom curtains on early mornings, snuggled up under the covers, being woken up by the light of day, are no different than our early ancestors waking up 20 minutes or so, after the sun has risen, waking up from their humble nest within the woods or up the trees. Happy sunny days, and even when the light comes through the clouds, light is essential to us in many ways.
Can you imagine living in a world of darkness? We understand fully how important light is to us, but light on the body is also very important for our health and well being. If we don’t have natural light on our body then we don’t absorb vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for triggering the production of healthy blood cells, bones, and our immune system. Without sunlight, we can’t absorb calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D from the sun helps protect against inflammation, lowers high blood pressure relieves muscles and helps them to wake up, improves the brain, and mood and so much more.
Exposure to light and the right kind of light, from the sun, can increase the production of serotonin, the hormone responsible for boosting your mood to feel calm and focused, an ideal hormone for the daytime. When we go into darkness, our brain starts to produce melatonin, a hormone in helping us produce the right chemical in our brain to help us sleep.
The relationship between light & darkness is very apparent in mood, in a big relationship also with time and emotions. Without enough light, we merely don’t function very well. Although man-made light is not very good, there are now some technologies that have LEDs that are closer to the UV spectrum of the sun, healthier LEDs. With our current modern world surrounded by technology and screens, getting up early for work shifts can have a major effect on our body. SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) can have a huge impact on our mental health, we can wake up feeling sluggish, and not alert for the day, even biological chemical processes are not even fired for our body to feel more "awake".
There are a few ways in which both light and darkness affects us:
Our mood - Lack of the sun and more dark days brings on SAD, some people feel more affected than others. It can really change our circadian rhythm, this is also all down to lifestyle and when we work and how we spend our days at home. Usually, in many parts of the world, the wintertime is usually spent more indoors away from the outside world, and with this looking at mobile, laptop and tablet screens, these devices have a blue light "blue peak" which is believed to increase alertness, which is why sleep can have a huge impact due to artificial light and one of the many reasons of insomnia.
Our sleeping patterns - affected by our current technologies surrounding us, usually before we go to sleep, suppresses Melatonin the chemical released more in the evenings when exposed to darkness. Having exposure to this blue light can throw us off course from our normal circadian rhythm, leading to restless nights. The circadian rhythm is a physiological process in living beings that gets them to climatize to the 24 hour earth day period to regulate many biological processes for health and well being when to eat when to sleep when to be alert etc. We know how our 'body clock' treats us when we come back from a flight, or especially when our daylights saving time changes, it can really throw our circadian rhythm (body clock) out of balance. Located in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain which is linked to photoreceptors located throughout the body (such as the retina), when light hits our retina and activates the processes for our circadian rhythm, it makes us alert in the morning and as the light dims in the day when the light falls beyond the horizon, it is a strong signal for us to sleep.
Saying this our bodies have not yet got used to our artificial world of light, we have a tendency usually when we are solo, to be on our phones, talking to our friends and family from afar on social media, watching our favourite TV series or a movie before going to bed. Some fluorescent lights can usually make people feel depressed and sleepy, but LED's usually have the opposite effect by helping to be more productive, with a clearer mind, there is also less reported radiation from LEDs.
Speaking of light - blue peak light has been researched to make you feel more hungry, in some studies, it was shown that there was a switch made in the brain, causing to be more alert and tricking the brain and body, that you are being up awake much longer, which brought on late-night munchies, and more leading to weight gain.
The best way to sleep is to have a light gradually decreasing, and choosing a light machine session that does that gradually to induce a deeper sleep.
As I have previously said, there are newer LEDs now which provide a spectrum of light closer to that of sunlight, and are much healthier for us, and the powerful benefits of light machines can help us switch our daylight savings time and use light machines as a fix to change our body clock. Another great purpose for light machines is to use them as a SAD light to help wake us up in the mornings, especially for some of us who wake up in the dark.
Using artificial light can have both some good and bad advantages, bad being when you use it at the wrong times it can trick your body into being awake, but its also the right type of LED light which can be very helpful, such as feeling more refreshed, happier, allowing us to be more connected to our emotions, decision making etc. Cool white light can be better for productivity and alertness, while warm white lights can be good for relaxing and feeling balanced. A warm white can be like that of the sunrise or the sunset, a burning candle and is closest to a more natural peak. For example, the light from an open fire can be around 2000k, replicating this light can encourage the same calmness. The K at the end of 2000k is kelvin (K), and is measured on the brightness not the warmth of the light. Lux is the unit used to measure light. Sunlight is typically around 50,000 - 100,000lux, while your average lightbulb is around 250-500lux. Studies by the Harvard Medical school found long time exposure to blue light LED's led to an increased risk of depression and cardiovascular problems. Remember this is when done for long periods of time, natural light from the sun is the best, a cloudy day or sunny. We don’t want to be tricking our body into depression or a negative state being cooped up with artificial light, it’s like everything in life, take things in balance. Even anything from 5 lux has the ability to disrupt our sleep. So it’s important to try and use less light before going to bed, especially for generating melatonin naturally.
This is why it’s important to look after our mental health, and the other things that keep us ticking, such as our circadian rhythm, which not open affects our appetite, our digestion, mood etc, but is also a time clock how our body deals with everyday processes. If you are using screens throughout the day, then look at downloading apps or software which dim the blue peak on screens to relax our eyes later in the day.
To avoid any of the problems associated with artificial light or lack of light, including low mood, depression, vitamin d deficiency, etc, is to take everything into balance. If you are having a light machine session, its important to take some time for a walk afterwards to reflect on the session, and allowing you to come back to the normal world rather than going straight into work mode etc. Using light machines and mind machines are great alternatives to explore, especially when used programmed as SAD lights, for lucid dream induction, for super learning, for mood etc. Having the power of light at your hands is a great way, for health, mental health and using it the right way can bring powerful effects on the mind and body, especially for a 'healthy spiritual practice'.
How much light do we need? Its typically said that we need a minimum of 20-30 minutes a day, although this time is very low, not getting any natural light can be quite harmful in the long run. Ideally, around 1-2 hours of natural light is considered to be the most beneficial for our health.
Melatonin is produced by our pineal gland usually around the times of 9 pm and 8 am, depending on your sleep patterns of course. We understand that people work different shift patterns and so are going to have different results with sleep. We can use light machines and mind machines in a very unique way, for entrainment, but you have to closely monitor how sensitive you are, especially during the night. I remember the first time I used a light machine, it kept me awake most of the night. But used in the right way, with the right frequencies can contribute to entrainment and relaxation. Although light can be very energising, light machines can also be used to relax. Its all down to your intention and the use and purpose of the session.
Always be careful when using lights not to look directly at them.