Improve
your
light.
Improve
your
life.
The simple foundation for a robust circadian rhythm:
1) Bright natural light in morning (no sunglasses)
2) Block blue light at night
Most people can’t fathom that health / happiness can be attained this easily.
If you do these two things for 30 days you will FEEL the difference, and you’ll never want to go back to your old disrupted way of living again!
The only reason this isn’t widely known yet, it takes 3-10+ weeks
(every person is different, if it happened overnight everyone would know about it)
Also most doctors aren’t caught up on the latest studies on circadian disruption, so aren’t encouraging their patients to make these lifestyle changes…yet!
Those who implement these steps consistently have astonishing results.
Once you realize how much better you feel after doing these two things as consistently as possible, you’ll never go back to your previous way of circadian disrupted life again.
Ingest
nature’s
light /
energy
1)
Bright Natural Light in Morning
and take “light breaks” throughout the day
A cascade of biochemical reactions occur when we expose our eyes and body to bright light in the morning (no sunglasses.)
Consistent exposure to bright natural light leads to weight loss, reduces depression / agitation, regulates hormones, reduces pain, and builds melatonin leading to more restorative sleep that evening.
Optometrist: “Why you shouldn’t wear sunglasses”
You may not realize how much brighter it is outside when it’s cloudy…
The human eyes aren’t that great at determining differences in brightness. Even on a completely overcast day it’s 13x brighter outdoors, than in a fully lit house with 14 overhead LEDs.
(1080 lux outside, 86lux indoors.)
Change your mindset:
You’re not just “seeing light.”
You are ingesting energy with your eyes.
You body thrives on the natural light energy God/nature intended for humans to live in.
The more time you can simply be outside each day without sunglasses, the more you will notice feeling happier, healthier, and more human again.
Studies show that the brighter the light exposure (controlled experiments from 250lux up to 10,000lux) the greater the improvements in health.
Here are just some of the 100’s of studies indicating the importance of bright light exposure throughout the day.
Embrace nightfall
Block blue light
2)
Block blue light at night
In the evening, stop signalling to your body that it’s day!
If you mitigate “circadian blue” light energy from entering your body in the evening, it allows your melatonin levels to rise as they naturally should, leading to greater rejuvenation and lowers your chances of so many diseases and metabolic disorders.
How? It’s simple: 2 hrs before bedtime each night:
>Use amber or red LED bulbs instead of your normal daytime LEDs
>Use device settings to reduce brightness and color temperature.
>Use blue-blocking glasses (orange or red lenses) if you’re watching TV.
How to block blue:
It’s so easy.
Just a few small consistent changes will improve your life.
Computers
At night, don’t ever use your computer or phone at full factory settings!
You want to avoid this “circadian blue” energy in the evening, as it negatively affects every aspect of your physical and mental well-being.
This is what 100% “Night light” setting looks like on Windows laptop. At bare minimum, please use this setting (or similarly on Mac it’s called “Night shift”)… but you should know these native options only reduce blue light by about 90%, which is why we recommend using f.lux (free program / shown and linked below.)
This is what f.lux looks like when using the 1200k setting, only a sliver of blue lights is emitted with this setting. Yes it’s extremely red / different and takes some getting used to, but you will notice you fall asleep so much easier and over time you’ll feel better in so many ways.
You can download f.lux for free
(for Windows or Mac) here:
iPhone
On your iPhone, make sure you always use Dark Mode setting. This makes the background black in many native phone menus / apps (which equates to 95% recuction in white (aka blue) light. For other apps which still have white backgrounds, explore their menus / settings to see how many apps you can set dark mode on. Also, always leave True Tone on, as it automatically adjusts your display based on the lighting in your environment.
Leave “Night Shift” mode on at all times, by scheduling it from 12am to 11:59pm. I leave mine at 80% at all times. Having less blue emitted from your device at all times also makes it less addictive throughout the day (as blue light influences our dopamine levels.)
Tip: grab the iPhone of any friend/family who will let you, and insist on setting Night Shift up on their phone for them (scheduling it to turn on each evening automatically) because you care about their health / well-being and because you don’t want them to get cancer.
If you use “Night shift” settings on your phone, it’s a great start… but it’s not blocking enough blue (as you can see from readings we took above.)
So please try using the red screen filter. If you spend 2min of your time and this up once…then, anytime you want to make your screen red you simply triple click the side button to do so. Here’s a video how to set this up:
Last tip for iPhone: this isn’t essential or nearly as important as Night shift or red filter mode, but it makes a little difference to reduce white/bright/lux emissions. You can Reduce White Point by going to Settings > Accessibility > Display and Text Size. If you set it to 100% it’s arguably too dim to see in most cases, especially outside, so I’ve chosen to leave mine at 40%. Remember, the less white/blue from your screen, the less addictive it is at all times, and less melatonin disruption at night.
Android
Android devices don’t have a native option to adjust the color temperature of the screen (like iPhone’s “Night Shift”) so you’ll need to download one of these free apps from the Google Play store.
Blue Light Filter app has basic features and is supposed to be the easiest and most intuitive app to use on Android.
Twilight app can be a bit more complicated to use, as it has more features to play around with the customize the lighting.
TELEVISIONS
In the future, every single TV will have a button on the remote to shift your screen to orange/red (or they’ll automatically shift colors after sunset, based on your local time / location.) For now, you’ll either need to:
1) Always wear BBGs when you watch TV after sunset, with your TV at regular factory settings. Keep in mind your skin also has opsins which detect blue light, so the TV will still disrupt your melatonin levels (albeit much less than via the melanopsin blue light detectors in your eyes) even though you’re wearing amber/red BBGs.
2) Go deep into the TV menu’s picture options and switch the RGB mode to Red each night, if that’s an option on your TV.
3) Be like my quantum friend Kelly Bento, and buy an acrylic sheet to put over your screen (this way you don’t have to wear BBGs ever when watching it.) You can order one, customized to your exact TV-size, from PlasticZone here. Kelly paid $48 (plus shipping) for hers, which fits her 55” TV. Her TV sits slightly angled backwards on an art easel, so she didn’t have to mount the blue blocking sheet, it just rests on the TV.
Dr. Kelly Bento is the owner of Soleil Well Red Light Therapy panels. She’s supplied some of the Boston Celtics team members with RLT panels and blue-blocking glasses, and they just won a championship this year…probably a coincidence right? :)
Lighting
You don’t need to spend tons of money replacing EVERY BULB in your house. Simply install one circadian-friendly (zero blue) bulb in each room for nighttime use, and refrain from using your overhead white lights after sunset.
Remember, once your entire house has zero blue light at night (and you’re using free tools on computers/phones) then you don’t need to wear blue blocking glasses unless you’re watching TV (which most TV’s don’t have quick/easy options to make the screen red on.)
Disclaimer:
There is some contention among scientists/doctors you need to be aware of.
Some doctors (i.e. Martin Moore-Ede) interpret the studies to mean that as long as “circadian blue” (440-495nm) is absent in the evening, that there should be no melatonin suppression / circadian disruption in the light adapted human eye (because studies showing melatonin suppression up to 550nm were done with dark-adapted humans who were blindfolded for 90min. prior to light intervention.)
If this is true it would mean that an amber LED bulb is perfectly safe in the evening, and an incandescent is “good enough” because it has very little blue in it, especially if it’s dimmed low.
It would also mean that if you wake up prior to sunrise and turn on that same “safe” (in the evening) amber LED bulb that it would start suppressing your natural melatonin levels because you’re dark-adapted from sleeping.
Other doctors (i.e. Jack Kruse) posit that even 500-550nm green/yellow light also suppresses melatonin in the light-adapted eye, albeit only half as much as '‘circadian blue” does. This is why you will see some strict people in this quantum/circadian space only use red LEDs or candles in their house at night; they’re going the extra mile to be safe.
I personally (at this time at least) refuse to live in a red house every night for the rest of my life. With amber colored lights it still feels “normal”… you can still discern colors, and guests to the house hardly notice it, other than the occasional comment “this is really warm/cozy lighting.”
Choose which lighting strategy is best for you.
Keep in mind that if you wake up early before sunrise, and you turn on an amber bulb it will suppress your melatonin levels (because you’re dark-adapted)
Your cheapest option will be an incandescent bulb ($2.83/ea on Amazon here.)
Bonus if it’s on a dimmer switch so you can dim it down as low as possible, as shown above in my dining room.
I realize these are not energy efficient (90% of incandescent energy gets lost as heat)
but if you’re only using them 2-3 hours each night after sunset it’s a great cheap option, because if you want circadian LEDs those are a little more expensive.
Some bulbs, like these halogen bathroom lights, don’t allow you an option to replace them with a zero blue bulb, so you may need to get creative. Here we installed an amber LED strip light ($26, from Block Blue Light here.) It plugs into wall/USB outlet and has a dimmer switch on it.
Don’t use your overhead kitchen lights at night! Even when your white-appearing overhead lights are dimmed low they’re still suppressing your melatonin levels a good amount. Again, get creative…see what your area might look like with a decorative lamp that has an amber LED bulb ($5.50ea on Amazon here) or some people have amber LED strip lights in their kitchen under the countertops.
If you child insists on having a night light left on at night, please make sure it’s RED.
These ($6/ea from Midwest Red Light Therapy here) are a great option. Remember, even if your “white” night light is really dim, that as little as 3lux is shown to suppress melatonin levels, and could potentially even lead to hormonal / developmental issues in your child, so please use red instead!
For your kid’s room, consider getting a dynamic circadian bulb like the Biolight ($31 from Block Blue Light.) Flip the switch once, it turns on as amber color; flip the switch off/on again then it turns full-spectrum white-appearing light. This way kids can still have bright light during the day and zero blue at night. Yes, it’s an expensive bulb, your children’s health, happiness, and normal development should be worth it! These LEDs are rated to last 50,000hrs, so if you only have them on 5 hours a day, then they’ll last you over 25 years.
Blue blocking glasses (BBG’s)
First thing to know:
BBGs with clear or yellow lenses won’t improve your health at night;
they only block 35% and 60% of blue, respectively.
BBGs with amber or red lenses are the only ones that will truly benefit your circadian rhythm and overall health to wear at night.
Amber (aka orange) lenses are easier to get used to than red lenses, because amber ones cause less color distortion.
Red lenses are recommended if you want to be really strict and cut out most all green light as well, they’ll also help you wind your body down a little more quickly for bedtime compared to amber.
For the purposes of these reviews, we will only review amber/orange and red lenses, for wearing each night starting two to three hours before bedtime.
Best bang for your buck = buy these Night Prowlers (orange) from Midwest for $40
(a fraction of the cost you’d pay for chemotherapy = great investment!)
These block ALL blue (< 500nm) and also block all green <520nm.
I have no ties to this company, just independent reviews here.
2nd best bang for your buck are the SleepZM on Amazon for $40
These also block ALL blue (<500nm)
however notice a sliver of 500-520nm green is allowed in.
(Green light up to 550nm still suppresses melatonin slightly)
If you want to spend extra money on a great pair which blocks all blue AND most green (<540nm) get Maxwell Sunset by Ra Optics, priciest option I’ve tested at $164. These win for cutting lux (brightness/intensity) the most of any lenses we tested so far. These also feel more sturdy and are objectively more stylish than most others. Notice also that these are red lenses, whereas the first two above (SleepZM and Midwest) were orange/amber.
For Kids glasses, try Defendershield’s Kids Series for $22.99.
If you want to drastically reduce your kids chances of getting ADHD, depression, obesity, or early onset of puberty then get these for them! They block all blue (<500nm) and some green (<520nm.) Again no ties to this company, hence why we can make these claims without fear of FDA guidelines.
These BBGs from Cloudfield at $24, may be the cheapest pair on Amazon. Stay away, don’t buy! Yes, they actually block most all blue light (notice they still allow a sliver of it in the 460nm range) but they’re very cheap/flimsy frames. They feel like a pair you’d get out of a vending machine. If you want the ease of Amazon then go with SleepZM’s that you find there instead for $16 more dollars.
If you want the absolute cheapest option (just to try some out) then get these Pyramex orange safety goggles for $1.75 via BHP Safety Products. These are NOT THE BEST option because they only block about 95% of blue light, whereas most other amber/orange BBGs block 98-100%, but these a great place to start out if you’ve never tried them or if you want some cheap pairs around to hand out to any friends/family who you don’t want to get cancer / depression / heart disease / etc.
More reviews / spectrometer readings of BBGs coming in periodically…stay tuned!
3)
Red Light Therapy
This step is optional, but highly recommended for optimal health / longevity.
Each day you get exposed to red / infrared light, it not only increases your energy levels, but also builds your cellular melatonin which leads to a more restorative / restful sleep that evening.
More and more doctors are recommending Red Light Therapy for patients post-surgery to accelerate wound healing, as well as for treating a variety of skin conditions, for alleviating depression symptoms, for preventing Alzheimer’s. Many doctors/scientists agree RLT will help prevent you from getting cancer, as infrared light builds your redox.
Sunlight is far superior to RLT! But if you can’t get outside with a lot of skin exposed to receive it, then this is the next best bet.