When night falls, many of us like to keep red lights on in our homes, believing that it helps us relax and sleep better. However, red lights may not be as beneficial as we think. Research has found that having red lights on at night can have a surprisingly negative impact on our health, performance, and well-being. While red lights are a common choice for night lighting, they can interfere with our body’s natural sleep-wake cycle and disrupt our sleep patterns. Furthermore, they can reduce our ability to focus, hinder our performance in tasks that require concentration and lead to feelings of stress and anxiety. This article will discuss the surprising reasons why you should avoid having red lights on at night and recommend alternative lighting options.
Why Shouldn T You Have Red Lights On At Night?
Red lights can disrupt melatonin production
Melatonin is a hormone that tells your body to fall asleep, and it is naturally produced when the lights get dimmer. Red lights have a high frequency that gets absorbed by the retina in the eye and interferes with the melatonin production process. This causes the melatonin to be suppressed and makes it harder for you to fall asleep. So if you like to keep the lights on at night, stay away from red lights because they can make it harder for you to fall asleep.
Red lights can cause eye strain and headaches
Red lights are like a workout for your eyes, so if you spend a lot of time looking at screens with red lights, such as laptops or smartphones, you’re at risk for eye strain and headaches. Eye strain and headaches can cause difficulties falling asleep and interrupt your sleep throughout the night. So if you like to keep the lights on at night, stay away from red lights when you are looking at screens because they can cause eye strain and headaches.
Red lights can cause difficulty adjusting to the darkness
As you fall asleep, you naturally start to make adjustments to the amount of light in the room, and you make the room darker. If you keep the lights on at night, the brightness interferes with your body’s natural process of adjusting to the darkness. This can make it more difficult to fall asleep and can cause interrupted sleep throughout the night. So if you like to keep the lights on at night, stay away from red lights when you are trying to adjust to the darkness and make it easier to fall asleep.
Red lights can interfere with the circadian rhythm
The circadian rhythm is a natural sleep-wake cycle that helps regulate sleep and wakefulness throughout the day. Red lights have high frequencies that can get absorbed by the retina in the eye and can cause the circadian rhythm to be disrupted. This can make it harder for you to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. So if you like to keep the lights on at night, stay away from red lights to help protect your circadian rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep.
Red lights can be too stimulating
The reason why many people like to keep the red lights on at night is that they are a calming or relaxing color. However, red lights can be too stimulating to fall asleep, especially if you are using them while looking at a screen. So if you like to keep the lights on at night, stay away from red lights when you are looking at screens because they can be too stimulating and make it difficult to fall asleep.
What Are The Effects Of Red Lights On Our Bodies?
- When we look at something that is red, our eyes’ photoreceptors react by sending signals to the hypothalamus of our brains. This part of our brains is responsible for regulating many of our core bodily functions, such as our blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, and sleep-wake cycles.
- Generally speaking, if something has a red hue, it is very similar to the sun’s red light. This means that it contains a large amount of infrared light, which is a type of light that our bodies cannot see.
- Infrared light is a form of non-visible light that is very beneficial to our bodies because it can help to reduce fatigue, improve mood, and promote feelings of relaxation.
How Red Lights Affect Our Sleep-Wake Cycle?
- Research has found that red lights at night can have a significant impact on our sleep-wake cycles. In one study, researchers compared the effects of blue and red light on the circadian rhythms of 12 volunteers.
- The participants spent 8 hours of the day (2 hours each) under blue, red, and no lights. They then spent 8 hours at night under the same lights. The results showed that blue light had no effect on sleep-wake cycles, while red light significantly delayed sleep.
- In fact, they had a similar effect as having a 45-minute delay in bed. This means that if you have red lights on when you go to bed, they can make it harder for you to fall asleep.
How Red Lights Can Reduce Our Ability To Focus?
- In addition to impacting our sleep-wake cycles, red lights can also reduce our ability to focus. When we look at something that has a red hue, our photoreceptors send signals to the brain that can reduce our mental clarity.
- This means that if you have red lights on at night, they can make it harder for you to concentrate on tasks that require focus. Having red lights on at night can also make it harder for us to see, which can increase our risk of accidents.
- For example, if you have red lights on when walking your dog, they can make it harder for you to see in the dark.
Alternative Lighting Options For A Good Night’s Sleep
- There are many different lighting options that are better than red lights at night. Blue lights are known to have a calming effect, which is particularly beneficial at night. If you want to reduce anxiety at night and improve your sleep quality, then having calming blue lights on can be an effective choice.
- Alternatively, you could have green lights on. This is a color that does not have any effect on our circadian rhythms, so it won’t negatively impact your sleep. You could also have no lights on at all.
- This may sound like a strange suggestion, but going without lights at night can have a significant impact on our circadian rhythms, helping us to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. A Word of Caution Though When it comes to lighting, natural is best, so try to avoid using any artificial lights as much as possible, as they can negatively impact our health.
- If you do use artificial lights, make sure that they are of the warm or low color temperature variety and are set to low brightness.
Conclusion
When night falls, many of us like to keep red lights on in our homes, believing that it helps us relax and sleep better. However, red lights may not be as beneficial as we think. Research has found that having red lights on at night can have a surprisingly negative impact on our health, performance, and well-being. There are many different lighting options that are better than red lights at night. When it comes to lighting, natural is best, so try to avoid using any artificial lights as much as possible.
