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A Lightbulb That Helps You Fall Asleep?

The Lighting Science Group is a pioneer of "biological lighting"

By Rain Noe - September 25, 2015

in Lighting

Do you sleep well at night? Studies increasingly show that many of you don't. Part of the problem can be diet—I found that since I stopped drinking coffee in the afternoons and cut down on processed sugars, I fall asleep faster and sleep much better—but a lot of it may also have to do with the lighting in your home.

You've probably heard that using tablets or smartphones prior to bedtime makes it harder to fall asleep. That's because they, along with the CFLs and LEDs illuminating our spaces, put out a lot of blue light. The sun also puts out a lot of blue light. When it hits receptors in our eyes, this blue light essentially games us into thinking it's still daytime and that we shouldn't be powering down for the night just yet.

Enter the Lighting Science Group, a company founded by Fred Maxik, a pioneer in what they're calling "biological lighting." Twenty-five years ago Maxik was designing special lighting for NASA, to help astronauts fall asleep in outer space, and nowadays LSG has made the technology available to the consumer market.

The thinking behind LSG's Good Night Biological LED Lamp is that if you can create the illumination we need to say, read at night, but filter out the blue light, we can still grow as sleepy as we should at that hour. Here's how the science works (warning, bad acting ahead):

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Here's what the product claims to do:

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At $60 a pop the bulbs aren't cheap, but the company is betting you'll notice the difference and become a convertee within a month; they're offering a 30-day full-refund return policy. And the reviews on Amazon are effusive.

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Sama .

9 years ago

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you knoe what makes it easier to fall asleep? No light, yes, NO LIGHT!

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John Davis

9 years ago

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LED prices are falling and will continue to fall. LSG is simply trying to find a niche to command a ridiculous price for a light bulb. No light bulb will help you fall asleep, they are not related to each other.
"blue light reduction" is an easy matter since the majority of LED's do not emit this spectrum at all. It is a sign of a low quality LED product today.

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Adrian van Wijk

9 years ago

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This LED light bulb called Silk by Saffron is a smart LED bulb that automatically adjusts its color temperature so you get light tailored throughout the day - 5000K+ during the day and around 2700K at night.

Way cool!

http://www.seesaffron.com/

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Eric Johansson

9 years ago

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all "white light" led's emit blue light because they start with a blue emitter which excites a phosphor which in turn emits "white" light". since the phosphor is not opaque, the led leaks blue light. tools like flux only change the ratio of blue to red light. they don't eliminate the blue light. you can prove this if you use a spectroscope. not sure if this design will provide enough resolution but it is cheap enough to give it a try.

http://www.livescience.com/41548-spectroscopy-science-fair-project.html

want a cheap solution? get a yellow filter and build a light cage around your light source.

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Ken K

9 years ago

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I'll add that most of the blue-light wakefulness that many of us suffer from, comes from our computer, iPhone, and iPad screens. I tend to use mine right up to bedtime.

There's a great free piece of software for OS X called f.lux (https://justgetflux.com) that "warms" your computer screen's color temp at sunset, or however you set it, reducing the blue emissions. I find that it has helped me a lot for sleeping better.

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Ken K

9 years ago

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These just reduce the blue emissions. You can buy a bug light for $2.50 that does the same thing. Or an Edison bulb for a warmer hipster look for about $8. Or an amber / orange filter to cut the blue emissions from any bulb. Sheesh. This is clever marketing for peddling a ridiculously expensive solution that can be solved so cheaply. Reminds me of the $1200 artisanal firewood guys, and Dyson's $300 "anti buffeting" desk fans.

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