FILTERING SHORT WAVELENGTHS OF LIGHT (NOT JUST “BLUE LIGHT”) TO REDUCE LATE DAY CORTISOL, IMPROVE SLEEP & PROTECT YOUR MELATONIN LEVELS • - We need to view bright full spectrum light in the morning and throughout the day in order to properly set our circadian rhythm - which leads to elevated daytime mood, focus, and alertness, and improved nighttime sleep. The best source of full spectrum light is sunlight, even on overcast days. - At night however, it takes very little light energy (photons) to diminish or even abolish melatonin, which severely alters the quality of your sleep. Melatonin is also important for cellular and tissue repair. Bright light at night also increases night time cortisol and elevates morning fasting glucose levels. To be clear, cortisol is healthy for us if elevated in the morning and early part of the day. When it’s elevated at night it has been associated with anxiety and depression. - I teamed up with @roka to design what we call Wind Down (red lens) glasses that filter out not just blue light, but also other short wavelengths of light that can cause the negative effects described above. It is hard and expensive to control indoor lighting conditions correctly at night and yet we want to still be able to use and enjoy phones, computers, movies and going out to dinner, socializing after dark etc. - These glasses allow you to do all that while seeing very clearly, and greatly ease the transition to sleep later in the night. I put them on about 2hrs before I plan to go to sleep, sometimes earlier depending on lighting conditions. - At Roka.com you can see the different frame designs. - Note: Dimming your lights at home after dark, especially overhead lights is recommended for everyone. Red lens Wind Down Rokas are not “red light therapy”; that’s different. - Put any questions you may have in the comments section below this post and as always, thank you for your interest in science! - @hubermanlab @stanford.med @stanford @roka - #neuroscience #science #ciencia #neurociencia #light #winddown #relax #lowcortisolnights #circadian #melatonin #relax #evening #photons