Short-Wavelength Sensitivity for the Direct Effects of Light on Alertness, Vigilance, and the Waking Electroencephalogram in Humans
Abstract
Study objectives To assess the wavelength-dependent sensitivity of the acute effects of ocular light exposure on alertness, performance, waking electroencephalogram (EEG), and cortisol. Design A between-subjects design was employed to compare the effects of exposure to 460-nm or 555-nm light for 6.5 hours during the biological night. Setting Intensive Physiological Monitoring Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Patients and participants Sixteen healthy adults (8 women; mean age +/- SD = 23.3 +/- 2.4 years). Interventions Subjects were exposed to equal photon densities (2.8 x 10(13) photons x cm(-2) x s(-1)) of either 460-nm (n = 8) or 555-nm (n = 8) monochromatic light for 6.5 hours, 15 minutes after mydriasis. Measurements and results Subjects underwent continuous EEG/electrooculogram recordings and completed a performance battery every 30 to 60 minutes. As compared with those exposed to 555-nm light, subjects exposed to 460-nm light had significantly lower subjective sleepiness ratings, decreased auditory reaction time, fewer attentional failures, decreased EEG power density in the delta-theta range (0.5-5.5 Hz), and increased EEG power density in the high-alpha range (9.5-10.5 Hz). Light had no direct effect on cortisol. Conclusions Short-wavelength sensitivity to the acute alerting effects of light indicates that the visual photopic system is not the primary photoreceptor system mediating these responses to light. The frequency-specific changes in the waking E…
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In humans, evening exposure to short-wavelength monochromatic light induces greater circadian and alerting responses than the same number of photons of longer-wavelength monochromatic light, even when the shorter-wavelength light has lower photopic lux.
“In humans, exposure to short-wavelength monochromatic light in the evening has been shown to induce greater circadian and alerting responses than exposure to the same number of photons of longer-wavelength monochromatic light (17 -19, 28 -34), even though the shorter-wavelength light may have a much lower illuminance level when measured in photopic lux (35).”
From Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. (2015) · cites this paper as [32]
Previous studies showed the strongest effect of evening short-wavelength light on sleepiness and alertness levels during the light exposure itself.
“Previous studies also showed the strongest effect of evening short-wavelength light on sleepiness and alertness levels during the light exposure itself [5,14,49].”
From Preliminary Results: The Impact of Smartphone Use and Short-Wavelength Light during the Evening on Circadian Rhythm, Sleep and Alertness (2021) · cites this paper as [49]
Cites
Phototransduction by retinal ganglion cells that set the circadian clock
Berson, D. M., Dunn, F. A., & Takao, M. (2002) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1067262 · Cited by 3,629 · see citing works
Subjective and objective sleepiness in the active individual
Åkerstedt, T., & Gillberg, M. (1990) · International Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.3109/00207459008994241 · Cited by 3,088 · see citing works
Hattar, S., Lucas, R. J., Mrosovsky, N., Thompson, S., Douglas, R. H., Hankins, M. W., Lem, J., Biel, M., Hofmann, F., Foster, R. G., et al. (2003) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature01761 · Cited by 1,245 · see citing works
Zeitzer, J. M., Dijk, D., Kronauer, R. E., Brown, E. N., & Czeisler, C. A. (2000) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7793.2000.00695.x · Cited by 1,175 · see citing works
Self-citationMelanopsin: An opsin in melanophores, brain, and eye
Provencio, I., Jiang, G., De Grip, W. J., Hayes, W. P., & Rollag, M. D. (1998) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.95.1.340 · Cited by 975 · see citing works
High Sensitivity of the Human Circadian Melatonin Rhythm to Resetting by Short Wavelength Light
Lockley, S. W., Brainard, G. C., & Czeisler, C. A. (2003) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jc.2003-030570 · Cited by 782 · see citing works
Self-citationRole of Melatonin in the Regulation of Human Circadian Rhythms and Sleep
Cajochen, C., Kräuchi, K., & Wirz‐Justice, A. (2003) · Journal of Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2826.2003.00989.x · Cited by 735 · see citing works
Phipps-Nelson, J., Redman, J. R., Dijk, D.-J., & Rajaratnam, S. M. W. (2003) · Sleep · doi:10.1093/sleep/26.6.695 · Cited by 394 · see citing works
WEITZMAN, E. D., NOGEIRE, C., PERLOW, M., FUKUSHIMA, D., SASSIN, J., MCGREGOR, P., GALLAGHER, T. F., & HELLMAN, L. (1974) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jcem-38-6-1018 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Burgess, H. J., Sletten, T., Savic, N., Gilbert, S. S., & Dawson, D. (2001) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/jappl.2001.91.3.1214 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Chang, A.-M., Aeschbach, D., Duffy, J. F., & Czeisler, C. A. (2015) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1418490112 · Cited by 1,430 · see citing works
Self-citationBio-Integrated Wearable Systems: A Comprehensive Review
Ray, T. R., Choi, J., Bandodkar, A. J., Krishnan, S., Gutruf, P., Tian, L., Ghaffari, R., & Rogers, J. A. (2019) · Chemical Reviews · doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00573 · Cited by 1,350 · see citing works
Measuring and using light in the melanopsin age
Lucas, R. J., Peirson, S. N., Berson, D. M., Brown, T. M., Cooper, H. M., Czeisler, C. A., Figueiro, M. G., Gamlin, P. D., Lockley, S. W., O’Hagan, J. B., et al. (2014) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2013.10.004 · Cited by 1,278 · see citing works
Self-citationSleep and circadian rhythm disruption in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disease
Wulff, K., Gatti, S., Wettstein, J. G., & Foster, R. G. (2010) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2868 · Cited by 1,055 · see citing works
Light as a central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect
LeGates, T. A., Fernandez, D. C., & Hattar, S. (2014) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn3743 · Cited by 1,001 · see citing works
Cajochen, C., Frey, S., Anders, D., Späti, J., Bues, M., Pross, A., Mager, R., Wirz-Justice, A., & Stefani, O. (2011) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00165.2011 · Cited by 730 · see citing works
Cajochen, C. (2007) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2007.07.009 · Cited by 652 · see citing works
Brown, T. M., Brainard, G. C., Cajochen, C., Czeisler, C. A., Hanifin, J. P., Lockley, S. W., Lucas, R. J., Münch, M., O’Hagan, J. B., Peirson, S. N., et al. (2022) · PLOS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001571 · Cited by 659 · see citing works
Self-citationAberrant light directly impairs mood and learning through melanopsin-expressing neurons
LeGates, T. A., Altimus, C. M., Wang, H., Lee, H.-K., Yang, S., Zhao, H., Kirkwood, A., Weber, E. T., & Hattar, S. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11673 · Cited by 577 · see citing works
Viola, A. U., James, L. M., Schlangen, L. J., & Dijk, D.-J. (2008) · Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health · doi:10.5271/sjweh.1268 · Cited by 565 · see citing works
Chellappa, S. L., Steiner, R., Blattner, P., Oelhafen, P., Götz, T., & Cajochen, C. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016429 · Cited by 546 · see citing works
Light as a modulator of cognitive brain function.
Vandewalle, G., Maquet, P., & Dijk, D.-J. (2009) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2009.07.004 · Cited by 556 · see citing works
Sadaghiani, S., Scheeringa, R., Lehongre, K., Morillon, B., Giraud, A.-L., & Kleinschmidt, A. (2010) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1004-10.2010 · Cited by 504 · see citing works
Gooley, J. J., Rajaratnam, S. M. W., Brainard, G. C., Kronauer, R. E., Czeisler, C. A., & Lockley, S. W. (2010) · Science Translational Medicine · doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3000741 · Cited by 447 · see citing works
Self-citationSleep and Circadian Rhythms in Humans
Czeisler, C. A., & Gooley, J. J. (2007) · Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology · doi:10.1101/sqb.2007.72.064 · Cited by 425 · see citing works
Self-citationLEDs for photons, physiology and food
Pattison, P. M., Tsao, J. Y., Brainard, G. C., & Bugbee, B. (2018) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0706-x · Cited by 410 · see citing works
Self-citationSmolders, K. C. H. J., de Kort, Y. A. W., & Cluitmans, P. J. M. (2012) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.04.028 · Cited by 353 · see citing works
Daytime Light Exposure Dynamically Enhances Brain Responses
Vandewalle, G., Balteau, E., Phillips, C., Degueldre, C., Moreau, V., Sterpenich, V., Albouy, G., Darsaud, A., Desseilles, M., Dang-Vu, T. T., et al. (2006) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.06.031 · Cited by 313 · see citing works
Circadian photoreception: ageing and the eye's important role in systemic health
Turner, P. L., & Mainster, M. A. (2008) · British Journal of Ophthalmology · doi:10.1136/bjo.2008.141747 · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Human responses to bright light of different durations
Chang, A., Santhi, N., St Hilaire, M., Gronfier, C., Bradstreet, D. S., Duffy, J. F., Lockley, S. W., Kronauer, R. E., & Czeisler, C. A. (2012) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2011.226555 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Self-citationAcute alerting effects of light: A systematic literature review
Souman, J. L., Tinga, A. M., te Pas, S. F., van Ee, R., & Vlaskamp, B. N. S. (2018) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2017.09.016 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Acute exposure to evening blue‐enriched light impacts on human sleep
Chellappa, S. L., Steiner, R., Oelhafen, P., Lang, D., Götz, T., Krebs, J., & Cajochen, C. (2013) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.12050 · Cited by 283 · see citing works
Vandewalle, G., Gais, S., Schabus, M., Balteau, E., Carrier, J., Darsaud, A., Sterpenich, V., Albouy, G., Dijk, D. J., & Maquet, P. (2007) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhm007 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
The human circadian system adapts to prior photic history
Chang, A., Scheer, F. A. J. L., & Czeisler, C. A. (2011) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2010.201194 · Cited by 263 · see citing works
Self-citationEffects of circadian disruption on the cardiometabolic system
Rüger, M., & Scheer, F. A. J. L. (2009) · Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders · doi:10.1007/s11154-009-9122-8 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Self-citationNapping: a public health issue. From epidemiological to laboratory studies
Faraut, B., Andrillon, T., Vecchierini, M.-F., & Leger, D. (2017) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2016.09.002 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Santhi, N., Thorne, H. C., van der Veen, D. R., Johnsen, S., Mills, S. L., Hommes, V., Schlangen, L. J. M., Archer, S. N., & Dijk, D. (2012) · Journal of Pineal Research · doi:10.1111/j.1600-079x.2011.00970.x · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Boivin, D. B., Tremblay, G. M., & James, F. O. (2007) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2007.03.015 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Barger, L. K., Lockley, S. W., Rajaratnam, S. M. W., & Landrigan, C. P. (2009) · Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports · doi:10.1007/s11910-009-0024-7 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Self-citationA framework for predicting the non-visual effects of daylight – Part I: photobiology- based model
Andersen, M., Mardaljevic, J., & Lockley, S. (2012) · Lighting Research & Technology · doi:10.1177/1477153511435961 · Cited by 177 · see citing works
Self-citationCan light make us bright? Effects of light on cognition and sleep
Chellappa, S. L., Gordijn, M. C. M., & Cajochen, C. (2011) · Progress in brain research · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-53817-8.00007-4 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Daily and seasonal variation in the spectral composition of light exposure in humans
Thorne, H. C., Jones, K. H., Peters, S. P., Archer, S. N., & Dijk, D.-J. (2009) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420520903044315 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Gabel, V., Maire, M., Reichert, C. F., Chellappa, S. L., Schmidt, C., Hommes, V., Viola, A. U., & Cajochen, C. (2013) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.3109/07420528.2013.793196 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Circadian misalignment affects sleep and medication use before and during spaceflight
Flynn-Evans, E. E., Barger, L. K., Kubey, A. A., Sullivan, J. P., & Czeisler, C. A. (2016) · npj Microgravity · doi:10.1038/npjmgrav.2015.19 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Self-citationStephenson, K. M., Schroder, C. M., Bertschy, G., & Bourgin, P. (2012) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2011.09.002 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Age-Related Changes in Acute and Phase-Advancing Responses to Monochromatic Light
Sletten, T. L., Revell, V. L., Middleton, B., Lederle, K. A., & Skene, D. J. (2009) · Journal of Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1177/0748730408328973 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Chang, A.-M., Scheer, F. A. J. L., Czeisler, C. A., & Aeschbach, D. (2013) · Sleep · doi:10.5665/sleep.2894 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Self-citationLight modulation of human clocks, wake, and sleep
Prayag, A. S., Münch, M., Aeschbach, D., Chellappa, S. L., & Gronfier, C. (2019) · Clocks & Sleep · doi:10.3390/clockssleep1010017 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Self-citationChinoy, E. D., Duffy, J. F., & Czeisler, C. A. (2018) · Physiological Reports · doi:10.14814/phy2.13692 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Self-citationLux vs. wavelength in light treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder
Anderson, J. L., Glod, C. A., Dai, J., Cao, Y., & Lockley, S. W. (2009) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01345.x · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Self-citationBright light as a personalized precision treatment of mood disorders
Maruani, J., & Geoffroy, P. A. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00085 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Obayashi, K., Saeki, K., & Kurumatani, N. (2014) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.3109/07420528.2014.937491 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Chellappa, S. L., Steiner, R., Oelhafen, P., & Cajochen, C. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13973-1 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Non-circadian direct effects of light on sleep and alertness: Lessons from transgenic mouse models
Hubbard, J., Ruppert, E., Gropp, C.-M., & Bourgin, P. (2013) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2012.12.004 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Photic memory for executive brain responses
Chellappa, S. L., Ly, J. Q. M., Meyer, C., Balteau, E., Degueldre, C., Luxen, A., Phillips, C., Cooper, H. M., & Vandewalle, G. (2014) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1320005111 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Daytime melatonin and light independently affect human alertness and body temperature
Lok, R., van Koningsveld, M. J., Gordijn, M. C. M., Beersma, D. G. M., & Hut, R. A. (2019) · Journal of Pineal Research · doi:10.1111/jpi.12583 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Wahnschaffe, A., Haedel, S., Rodenbeck, A., Stoll, C., Rudolph, H., Kozakov, R., Schoepp, H., & Kunz, D. (2013) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms14022573 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
What keeps us awake?–the role of clocks and hourglasses, light, and melatonin
Cajochen, C., Chellappa, S., & Schmidt, C. (2010) · International review of neurobiology · doi:10.1016/s0074-7742(10)93003-1 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Höhn, C., Schmid, S. R., Plamberger, C. P., Bothe, K., Angerer, M., Gruber, G., Pletzer, B., & Hoedlmoser, K. (2021) · Clocks & Sleep · doi:10.3390/clockssleep3010005 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
“Previous studies also showed the strongest effect of evening short-wavelength light on sleepiness and alertness levels during the light exposure itself [5,14,49].”
BackgroundShort blue light pulses (30 min) in the morning support a sleep-advancing protocol in a home setting
Geerdink, M., Walbeek, T. J., Beersma, D. G. M., Hommes, V., & Gordijn, M. C. M. (2016) · Journal of Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1177/0748730416657462 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Revell, V. L., Barrett, D. C. G., Schlangen, L. J. M., & Skene, D. J. (2010) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.3109/07420528.2010.516048 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
On light as an alerting stimulus at night
Figueiro, M., Bullough, J., Bierman, A., Fay, C., & Rea, A. (2007) · Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis · doi:10.55782/ane-2007-1645 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Light exposure at night and sleep quality in bipolar disorder: the APPLE cohort study
Esaki, Y., Kitajima, T., Obayashi, K., Saeki, K., Fujita, K., & Iwata, N. (2019) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.031 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Campbell, I., Sharifpour, R., & Vandewalle, G. (2023) · Clocks & Sleep · doi:10.3390/clockssleep5010012 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Lechner, M., Breeze, C. E., Ohayon, M. M., & Kotecha, B. (2019) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2018.08.029 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Impact of age on human non-visual responses to light
REVELL, V. L., & SKENE, D. J. (2010) · Sleep and Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1111/j.1479-8425.2009.00418.x · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Are short (blue) wavelengths necessary for light treatment of seasonal affective disorder?
Anderson, J. L., St Hilaire, M. A., Auger, R. R., Glod, C. A., Crow, S. J., Rivera, A. N., Fuentes Salgado, S. M., Pullen, S. J., Kaufman, T. K., Selby, A. J., et al. (2016) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420528.2016.1207660 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Making Memories: Why Time Matters
Kelley, P., Evans, M. D. R., & Kelley, J. (2018) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00400 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Short wavelength light administered just prior to waking: a pilot study
Grandner, M. A., Kripke, D. F., Elliott, J., & Cole, R. (2013) · Biological Rhythm Research · doi:10.1080/09291016.2011.632578 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“…et al. 2003; Warman et al. 2003; Herljevic et al. 2004, 2005; Wright et al. 2004; Revell et al. 2005, 2006; Campbell 2006; Glickman et al. 2006; Lockley et al. 2006; Desan et al. 2007; Gooley et al. 2008; Hanifin et al. 2008; Lockley 2008; Ackermann et al. 2009; Burkhart and Phelps 2009; Smith…”
Background
- Authors
- Lockley, S. W., Evans, E. E., Scheer, F. A. J. L., Brainard, G. C., Czeisler, C. A., & Aeschbach, D.
- Affiliations
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Thomas Jefferson University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Steven W. Lockley
- ORCID
- Venue
- Sleep
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2006-02-01
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 161-8
- ISSN
- 0161-8105 (ISSN-L)
- 1550-9109
- OpenAlex
- W2152871092
- Cited by
- 626
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 45 · 2016: 37 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 37
- FWCI
- 8.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- SLEEP (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Surrey Research Insight Open Access (The University of Surrey) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (060018)
- National Institute of Mental Health (2R01 MH45130-11A1, R01MH045130)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01 NS36590, R01NS036590)
- National Center for Research Resources (M01 RR 02635, M01RR002635)
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (R01AT002129)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Keywords
- short-wavelength light, blue light, alertness, sustained attention, sleepiness, reaction time, attention, cortisol, circadian rhythm, sleep pressure, photoreceptors
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Arousal, Electroencephalography, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Disorders of Excessive Somnolence, Male, Melatonin, Psychomotor Performance, Radioimmunoassay, Wakefulness, Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm, Photophobia
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
