Sleep is a necessity for
everyone. Proper and sufficient amounts of sleep have been correlated to many
health benefits including improved health and memory capabilities, at the least.
It is essential that those who are ill get to rest in sufficient and optimal amounts.
One thing that can affect the quality of sleep is exposure to blue light. Blue light
is a type of light that every person who owns an electronic device with a
screen has heard of and has been exposed to. It is present in devices such as computers,
laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Many electronic companies and producers
boast about how they have very little blue light emission, or how they have
reduced their blue light emission by a certain percentage in their products. Interestingly,
blue light is also emitted from LED lights that can be found in hospitals and
in patients’ rooms. Can this exposure to blue light be effectively limited in a
patient’s environment to aid in their recovery?
In the article “Circadian
Disruption and Human Health” by Zee et al., Dr. Zee presented a detailed overview
of the effects of the circadian rhythm on the different aspects of human
health. She highlighted the possible effects of a disrupted circadian rhythm
which range from neurological disorders to immunological disorders. Furthermore,
the different categories of people who can have a possibly
disrupted circadian rhythm were explored. Those categories include approximately
16% of adults who work outside of a daytime schedule, approximately 70% of those
who work indoors, and an estimated 99% affected by light pollution (Zee et al.,
2021). Even though these populations are encompassing individuals residing in the
US, an astounding number of individuals are exposed to light pollution in the
US and around the world daily. Zee et al. state that several studies
have shown that excessive light pollution in the evening can be a reason for
a disruption in the circadian rhythm. This is a crucial finding as many people
may fall within this category.
The article “The Evening Light
Environment in Hospitals can be Designed to Produce Less Disruptive Effects on
the Circadian System and Improve Sleep” discusses a study on the effect of
lighting on patients’ circadian rhythms and their quality of sleep. This study
aimed to show the reduced effects of blue-depleted lighting on circadian rhythms
in naturalistic settings because this has not been extensively studied outside of
laboratory settings. Vethe et al. studied blue-depleted lighting in a
psychiatric hospital unit where new dynamic lighting systems were installed. Half
of the unit in the hospital had blue-depleted lighting whereas the other half of the unit had standard lighting. The study was set up in a way that 12 healthy adults
stayed in each light setting for 5 days in a randomized cross-over trial order.
Vethe et al. found that adults who were in the blue-depleted lighting had lower
suppression of their levels of melatonin when compared to the levels of suppression
of melatonin in standard lighting. Also, total sleep time was 8.1 minutes
longer and REM sleep was 13.9 minutes longer in blue-depleted lighting when compared
to the results from individuals in standard lighting (Vethe et al., 2021).
The second article was
really interesting when viewing it in light of Zee et al.’s work because Zee et
al. focused on the negative implications of a disturbed circadian rhythm on
human health. On the other hand, Vethe et al. focused on how effective a blue-depleted
lighting environment can be in regard to reducing/removing the impact on the circadian rhythm. The paper by Zee et al. mentioned how immune disorders may arise from a
disrupted circadian rhythm. The study by Vethe et al. shows that it is effective
and possible to create a lighting environment that has a minimal impact on the
circadian rhythm and sleep without serious side effects in a naturalistic
setting. Since this study was done in a hospital with a dynamic lighting environment,
it shows that hospitals can be designed, or even renovated, to incorporate this
type of environment which can benefit patients’ sleep, and therefore, possibly
their recovery. Patients' recoveries can have a chance to be at an optimal pace as
their immune systems would not indirectly be harmed via a disrupted circadian
rhythm.
References
Fishbein, A. B., Knutson,
K. L., & Zee, P. C. (2021). Circadian disruption and human health. The
Journal of clinical investigation, 131(19), e148286.
https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI148286
Vethe, D., Scott, J.,
Engstrøm, M., Salvesen, Ø., Sand, T., Olsen, A., Morken, G., Heglum, H. S.,
Kjørstad, K., Faaland, P. M., Vestergaard, C. L., Langsrud, K., &
Kallestad, H. (2021). The evening light environment in hospitals can be
designed to produce less disruptive effects on the circadian system and improve
sleep. Sleep, 44(3), zsaa194. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa194
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