In order to evaluate the circadian effects of light, an approach based only on a circadian sensitivity function makes it possible to easily obtain efficiency functions and action factors. However, it does not take into account the circadian human response to light stimuli, which is not linear. Non-linear models are more sophisticated and accurate but they are not easy to apply. In this paper a proposal for an easy way to evaluate the potential ‘circadian effects’ of light sources is presented. Although the model is quite simple, results are in good agreement with those obtained by means of one of the most accurate non-linear models.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
GooleyJJLuJFischerDSaperCB. A broad role for melanopsin in nonvisual photoreception. Journal of Neuroscience2003; 23: 7093–7106.
2.
MoserMFruhwirthMPenterRWinkerR. Why life oscillates–from a topographical towards a functional chronobiology. Cancer Causes and Control2006; 17: 591–599.
3.
ArmstrongSMCassoneVMChesworthMJRedmanJRShortRV. Synchronization of mammalian circadian rhythms by melatonin. Journal of Neural Transmission Supplementa1986; 21: 375–394.
4.
GlassLMackeyMC. From Clocks to Chaos: The Rhythms of Life, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1988.
5.
NayakSKJeglaTPandaS. Role of a novel photopigment, melanopsin, in behavioral adaptation to light. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences2006; 64: 144–154.
6.
BersonDDunnFTakaoM. Phototransduction by retinal ganglion cells that set the circadian clock. Science2002; 295: 1070–1073.
7.
CzeislerCAShanahanTLKlermanEBMartensHBrotmanDJEmensJSKleinTRizzo3rd JF. Suppression of melatonin secretion in some blind patients by exposure to bright light. New England Journal of Medicine1995; 332: 6–11.
8.
BrainardGCHanifinJPGreesonJMByrneBGlickmanGGernerERollagMD. Action spectrum for melatonin regulation in humans: evidence for a novel circadian photoreceptor. Journal of Neuroscience2001; 21: 6405–6412.
9.
ThapanKArendtJSkeneDJ. An action spectrum for melatonin suppression: evidence for a novel non - rod, non - cone photoreceptor system in humans. Journal of Physiology2001; 535: 261–267.
10.
BersonDMDunnFATakaoM. Phototransduction by retinal ganglion cells that set the circadian clock. Science2002; 295: 10–10.
11.
HatoriMPandaS. The emerging roles of melanopsin in behavioral adaptation to light. Trends in Molecular Medicine2010; 16: 435–446.
12.
ReaMFigueiroMGBiermanABulloughJD. Circadian light. Journal of Circadian Rhythms2010; 8: 2–2.
13.
BadiaPMyersBBoeckerMCulpepperJ. Bright light effects on body temperature, alertness, EEG and Behavior. Physiology and Behavior1991; 50: 583–588.
14.
DauratAForetJTouitouYBenoitO. Detrimental influence of bright light exposure on alertness, performance, and mood in the early morning. Clinical Neurophysioogy1996; 26: 8–14.
15.
KüllerRWetterbergL. Melatonin, cortisol, EEG, ECG and subjective comfort in healthy humans: impact of two fluorescent lamp types at two light intensities. Lighting Research and Technology1993; 25: 71–81.
16.
MoritaTTokuraHWakamuraTParkSJTeramotoY. Effects of the morning irradiation of light with different wavelengths on the behavior of core temperature and melatonin in humans. Applied Human Demonstration of additivity Science1997; 16: 103–105.
17.
CajochenCMunchMKobialkaSKrauchiKSteinerROelhafenP. High sensitivity of human melatonin, alertness, thermoregulation and heart rate to short wavelength light. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism2005; 90: 1311–1311.
18.
FigueiroMGBiermanAPlitnickBReaMS. Preliminary evidence that both blue and red light can induce alertness at night. BMC Neuroscience2009; 10: 105–105.
19.
FigueiroMGReaMS. The effects of red and blue lights on circadian variations in cortisol, alpha amylase, and melatonin. International Journal of Endocrinology2010. . DOI: 10.1155/2010/829351.
20.
LockleySWEvansEEScheerFABrainardGCCzeislerCAAeschbachD. Short-wavelength sensitivity for the direct effects of light on alertness, vigilance, and the waking electroencephalogram in humans. Sleep2006; 29: 161–168.
21.
ZeitzerJMDijkDJKronauerRBrownECzeislerC. Sensitivity of the human circadian pacemaker to nocturnal light: melatonin phase resetting and suppression. Journal of Physiology2000; 526: 695–702.
22.
DijkDJVisscherCBloemGBeersmaDDaanS. Reduction of human sleep duration after bright light exposure in the morning. Neuroscience Letters1987; 73: 181–186.
23.
LackLWrightH. The effect of evening bright light in delaying the circadian rhythms and lengthening the sleep of early morning awakening insomniacs. Sleep1993; 16: 436–443.
24.
MünchMKobialkaSSteinerROelhafenPWirz-JusticeACajochenC. Wavelength-dependent effects of evening light exposure on sleep architecture and sleep EEG power density in men. American Journal of Physiology - Regulative, Integrative and Comparative Physiology2005; 290: R1421–R1248.
25.
BoycePR. The impact of light in buildings on human health. Indoor Built Environment2010; 19(1): 8–20.
26.
SmithMRFoggLFEastmanCI. A compromise circadian phase position for permanent night work improves mood, fatigue, and performance. Sleep2009; 32: 1481–1489.
27.
LeeCSmithMREastmanCI. A compromise phase position for permanent night shift workers: circadian phase after two night shifts with scheduled sleep and light/dark exposure. Chronobiology International2006; 23: 859–875.
28.
HausESmolenskyM. Biological clocks and shift work: circadian dysregulation and potential long-term effects. Cancer Causes and Control2006; 17: 489–500.
29.
StevensRGReaMS. Light in the built environment: potential role of circadian disruption in endocrine disruption and breast cancer. Cancer Causes and Control2001; 12: 279–287.
30.
HansenJ. Increased breast cancer risk among women who work predominantly at night. Epidemiology2001; 12: 74–77.
31.
MartinyKLundeMUndénMDamHBechP. Adjunctive bright light in non-seasonal major depression: results from clinician-rated depression scales. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica2005; 112: 117–117.
32.
TuunainenAKripkeDFEndoT. Light therapy for non-seasonal depression (Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library2004 (Issue 2)Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
33.
BelliaLBisegnaF. From radiometry to circadian photometry: a theoretical approach. Building and Environment2013; 62: 63–68.
34.
GallD. Die Messung Circadianer Strahlungsgroßen, Ilmenau: Technische Universitat Ilmenau, 2004.
35.
KozakovRFrankeSSchöppH. Approach to an effective biological spectrum of a light source. Leukos2008; 4: 255–263.
36.
Deutsches Institut fur Normung, Report No.: DIN V 5031-100. Optical Radiation Physics and Illuminating Engineering - Part 100: Non-visual Effects of Ocular Light on Human Beings - Quantities, Symbols and Action Spectra, Berlin: DIN.
37.
ReaMSFigueiroMGBiermanAHammerR. Modelling the spectral sensitivity of the human circadian system. Lighting Research and Technology2012; 44: 386–396.
38.
BelliaLBisegnaFSpadaG. Lighting in indoor environments: visual and non visual effects of light sources with different spectral power distributions. Building and Environment2011; 46: 1984–1992.
39.
FigueiroMGBulloughJDParsonsRHReaMS. Preliminary evidence for spectral opponency in the suppression of melatonin by light in humans. Neuroreport2004; 15: 313–316.
40.
FigueiroMGBulloughJDBiermanAReaMS. Demonstration of additivity failure in human circadian phototransduction. Neuroendocrinology Letters2005; 26: 493–498.
41.
FigueiroMGBiermanAReaMS. Retinal mechanism determine the subadditive response to polychromatic light by the human circadian system. Neuroscience letters2008; 438: 242–245.
42.
ReaMSFigueiroMGBulloughJDBiermanA. A model of phototransduction by the human circadian system. Brain Research Reviews2005; 50: 213–228.
43.
Vidovszky-NémethASchandaJ. White light brightness–luminance relationship. Lighting Research and Technology2011; 44: 55–68.
44.
ReaMSRadetskyLCBulloughJD. Toward a model of outdoorlighting scene brightness. Lighting Research and Technology2011; 43: 7–30.
45.
Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage. Technical Report 200: Supplementary System of Photometry, Vienna: CIE, 2011.
