Light Wakes Us Up and Makes Us Feel Alert
A special set of cells in the eye that are highly sensitive to blue light sends signals to brain areas that promote alertness. Light that activates these cells tells our brains that it is daytime and that means it’s time to be awake, alert, and productive.
The more blue there is in the light, the more awake we will feel. This is especially obvious to us when we are feeling tired. Bright, blue-enriched light like MelaGen® Blue can act like having a cup of coffee for how awake we feel. This can happen almost instantly. Though we say the light has more “blue”, it doesn’t have to appear to be the colour blue. MelaGen® Blue is enriched in blue wavelengths even though it appears as white light, similar to daylight.
By controlling the level of blue light exposure, we have learned to regulate both sleep and alertness promoting responses to light.
Alertness in the Workplace
Recently a paper was released showing the benefits of applying blue enriched light in an Australian chemical facility.
The paper showed an increase in both subjective and objective performance during both the middle and the end of a night shift.