Effects of Red Light on Circadian Rhythm: A Comparison Among Lamps With Similar Correlated Color Temperatures Yet Distinct Spectrums

Abstract

Blue crest between the wavelength of 460 nm and 480 nm was reported to present melatonin suppression effects, whereas effects of red light on circadian rhythm regulation remain unclear. Spectrum plays an important role in circadian rhythm regulation, yet a lot of researches focused on the correlated color temperature, although a correlated color temperature value corresponds to various possible spectrums. Here, we performed human factor experiments with 3 lamps on 17 participants, comprising 9 males and 8 females. Our results showed that spectrums with high blue intensity tended to cause abnormal regulations of melatonin and cortisol, while the abnormalities were likely to be compensated by the 606-635-nm red light, which was indispensable for the photo-biological effects concerning circadian rhythm regulation. Abnormal circadian rhythm regulation was also found to be influenced by the illuminance, as abnormalities were significant in 500 lux whereas they were likely to disappear in 250 lux, implying the existence of threshold doses to trigger abnormities concerning circadian rhythm regulation. Furthermore, circadian rhythm responses were distinct between males and females. Our work may have implications for the development of light source, as we suggest that lighting source designers should increase the 606-635-nm intensity for bed room luminaires to decrease melatonin suppression effects.

Keywords

• Spectral power distribution
• circadian rhythm regulation
• narrow blue crest
• gender difference
• long-wavelength red light