Phase advancing the human circadian clock with blue-enriched polychromatic light

Abstract

Background Previous studies have shown that the human circadian system is maximally sensitive to short-wavelength (blue) light. Whether this sensitivity can be utilized to increase the size of phase shifts using light boxes and protocols designed for practical settings is not known. We assessed whether bright polychromatic lamps enriched in the short-wavelength portion of the visible light spectrum could produce larger phase advances than standard bright white lamps. Methods Twenty-two healthy young adults received either a bright white or bright blue-enriched 2-h phase advancing light pulse upon awakening on each of four treatment days. On the first treatment day the light pulse began 8 h after the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO), on average about 2 h before baseline wake time. On each subsequent day, light treatment began 1 h earlier than the previous day, and the sleep schedule was also advanced. Results Phase advances of the DLMO for the blue-enriched (92 ± 78 min, n = 12) and white groups (76 ± 45 min, n = 10) were not significantly different. Conclusion Bright blue-enriched polychromatic light is no more effective than standard bright light therapy for phase advancing circadian rhythms at commonly used therapeutic light levels.