Light hacking

Discussion of all things technological and/or gadgety
User avatar
blackeagle603
Posts: 9770
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:13 am

Light hacking

Post by blackeagle603 »

Anyone else gone down this rabbit hole?

Shift work? Jet lag? This changes everything (maybe).

I've been reading the likes of Mark Sisson and Dave Asprey and playing with yellow and red lights and UV "blue" blocking gadgets that past month or so. Am seeing improvements in sleep duration and quality -- not that mine was so bad, but post stroke I've gotten real interested in sleep (starting with dialing in my CPAP better).
Last edited by blackeagle603 on Mon Oct 24, 2016 3:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"The Guncounter: More fun than a barrel of tattooed knife-fighting chain-smoking monkey butlers with drinking problems and excessive gambling debts!"

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
Cobar
Posts: 1513
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:23 pm

Re: Light hacking

Post by Cobar »

Link is dead
User avatar
blackeagle603
Posts: 9770
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:13 am

Re: Light hacking

Post by blackeagle603 »

Try the link now. "Re-Timer"
Light therapy (or phototherapy) involves exposure to specific wavelengths of light for a prescribed amount of time at a specific time of day.
"The Guncounter: More fun than a barrel of tattooed knife-fighting chain-smoking monkey butlers with drinking problems and excessive gambling debts!"

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
Old Grafton
Posts: 1576
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 4:07 am

Re: Light hacking

Post by Old Grafton »

I sleep best after being exposed to Coors Light or LaBatt's Blue Light.
I'm not old--It's too early to be this late.
MarkD
Posts: 3969
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 5:59 pm

Re: Light hacking

Post by MarkD »

I don't know about this particular product, but two other things I've heard of:

A former GF had Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), where during the winter she just wanted to hibernate, was tired and depressed all the time, etc. She got a sunlamp and spend time in front of it daily, and that seemed to make her (a little) less nuts.

There are apps for phones and tablets that will shift the color of the light emitted by the screen based on time of day, the idea being that a more blue/green light tends to wake you up and a more red light makes you tired,so if you use your phone before bed the color of the light may impede your sleep.
User avatar
blackeagle603
Posts: 9770
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:13 am

Re: Light hacking

Post by blackeagle603 »

yep, I've got f.lux and twilight running (on PC and android devices respectively).
"The Guncounter: More fun than a barrel of tattooed knife-fighting chain-smoking monkey butlers with drinking problems and excessive gambling debts!"

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
Cobar
Posts: 1513
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:23 pm

Re: Light hacking

Post by Cobar »

Not messed with anything like that, other than knowing that pitch black makes me sleep better.

I wonder how that stuff would end up effecting me, being red/green color deficient.
User avatar
Netpackrat
Posts: 13983
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:04 pm

Re: Light hacking

Post by Netpackrat »

Meh. I sleep better in the winter because there is less light.
Cognosce teipsum et disce pati

"People come and go in our lives, especially the online ones. Some leave a fond memory, and some a bad taste." -Aesop
User avatar
blackeagle603
Posts: 9770
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:13 am

Re: Light hacking

Post by blackeagle603 »

There's the sleep aspect and setting/resetting after travel or shift change. It's also (just as interesting) about mitochondria and ATP production -- energy.
According to Wunsch, as little as one-third of the energy your body requires for maintaining the thermal equilibrium comes from the food you eat. The electrons transferred from the food, primarily the fats and the carbohydrates, are ultimately transferred to oxygen and generate ATP. The more near infrared you get, the less nutritional energy is required for maintaining thermal homeostasis.

That said, a differentiation is in order. Most of the METABOLICALLY USED energy does come from food. But there is a thermodynamic aspect to it as well. Maintaining a normal body temperature (37 degrees C or 98.6 degrees F) involves two mechanisms: Energy production in your mitochondria from food, and photonic energy (near-infrared radiation from sunlight and incandescent light bulbs) that is able to penetrate deeply into your tissue, even through clothing.

"The radiation can enter your body and then be transformed into longer wavelengths in the infrared part. They are very important for supporting the temperature level, the thermal energy level, of our body which is … a very crucial aspect. A lot of energy comes in the form of radiation and this is supporting our thermal balance," Wunsch explains.

The key take-home message here is that your body's energy production involves not just food intake. You also need exposure to certain wavelengths of light in order for your metabolism to function optimally. This is yet another reason why sun exposure is so vitally important for optimal health.

Mercola on LED's
"The Guncounter: More fun than a barrel of tattooed knife-fighting chain-smoking monkey butlers with drinking problems and excessive gambling debts!"

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
User avatar
blackeagle603
Posts: 9770
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:13 am

Re: Light hacking

Post by blackeagle603 »

There's been a lot of talk about low T on this board over the years.

Turn up the lights anyone?
"The Guncounter: More fun than a barrel of tattooed knife-fighting chain-smoking monkey butlers with drinking problems and excessive gambling debts!"

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
Post Reply