10x10 x10? It’s the 10th day of October and we’re still going to bed at 10 PM. We’re on day 10 of the sleep challenge and loving it. Today, let’s talk about artificial light in the bedroom. LED lights are being pushed as the smart, environmentally responsible option. I admit, I got caught up in the hype. At one point I went and bought a bunch of daylight, white LED bulbs and put them everywhere in my house. The brighter rooms awed us. The new lights changed the look and feel of our rooms. I pat myself on the back for the good, albeit expensive decision I made. And then I did some research.
Of course, there’s a twist. I listened to podcasts, read books, and found articles that talked about light. All this bright, artificial light is affecting us. If you’ve ever worked in an office (that’s most of us), you’ve probably experienced the eye fatigue and other symptoms induced by the lighting that predominates in these buildings. White and blue light align with the spectrum of light you see when the sun is high in the sky at midday. So, when you stay up late with this spectrum of light surrounding you, it’s telling your brain that it’s midday. Think about the color of the sky as the sun cycles through the day. In the morning and evening, you get more of the pink, orange, and red colors of light. The light also slowly fades at the end of the day. It’s a cycle. We should mimic this. While not all of us have dimmer switches for our lights, options are available. Many options are affordable too. Here’s the option I went with. I picked up a couple of red LED lights from my local box stores. One light went in a lamp in the living room/common area and the other went in a lamp next to my bed. Neither of these light sources are nearly as bright as the LED lights in the overhead fixtures. That’s another plus.
Other sources of light include TV, charging toothbrushes, or baby monitor, to name a few. My TV has a red status light that is thankfully dim enough to go basically unnoticed. An electric toothbrush from the bathroom will blink an annoyingly bright, blue light while charging. I can “see” it with my eyes closed. While it’s charging, the door to the bathroom stays closed at night. If you have a baby monitor, you can lay it face down when you’re not looking at it. The screen on a video monitor can illuminate an entire room. We can’t cover everyone’s situation here, but let this start you on a light audit. Cover up blue or white status lights from electronics. Change to red or amber lights for evening time. In some cases, it’s easier to cover the source of light temporarily. When I sleep in hotels I routinely cover the clock with a pillow or towel. Look around your room. Are some of the lights keeping you awake at night? Could you make some quick changes, even today to help? A third of the way through this challenge, you should be sleeping better by now. If not, your lighting situation after 8 PM might be hurting you. Today is a great day for a quick win.
Sleep well.