#671-674 Purple light and Melatonin.
Fun Fact #671
Purplexing Purple
Over the weekend my father was showing his new car (Hyundai Pallisade) to my Aunt when she got upset about the interior lights being set to purple. Now while this may seem unusual, it actually makes some sense when looking at her background. You see architects are taught to avoid Blue and purple lighting when possible due to the fact that they can help make a space feel small and oppressive. Additionally Blue light in particular messes with people’s circadian rhythm making it harder to fall asleep. It does this by triggering the body to reduce its production of Melatonin (A hormone that regulates the Sleep-cycle) which needs to be released 2-3 hours before a restful sleep. Repeated exposure during those 2-3 hours before bed can result in long term issues for a person’s body to set a circadian rhythm making the issue even worse.
Yet there are situations where this light is actually preferred or even beneficial. This is why you may see blue lighting in restrooms, particularly in the busier areas of a city. This initially started as a way to deter drug deaths as it made veins harder to see, and while that failed (Addicts just got injured far more often and actually increased the death rate) the effort did see a marked improvement with how fast people left restrooms. This is due to how the light reduces a phone's visual contrast and makes it harder to use, encouraging people to stay off them. There is a downside to this however as blue light can also impact a person’s depth perception making slips and trips more common in occurrence.
In other words, My Aunt has a good reason to be afraid of Purple light, and coincidently my Father suddenly has a new fascination of trying to make sure his cars always have a purple light whenever we visit our Aunt now.
Fun Fact #672
The Dark Light Rises.
Today, most modern cars will have interior lighting making it easier to see around and use items like door handles. Some higher end cars will even let you change or set what color you’re using, yet one color option may seem out of place as “Dark Mode” is actually multiple colors (shades of Blue, purple, and Lavendar) often at a much dimmer level of intensity. The reasoning here is also that under blue light, white or bright-yellow objects can "Fluorescence" or Glow. This is due to the fact that blue light is of higher energy, and the object fluorescing has reflected the light at a longer wavelength (Yellow, Green, or red with Yellow working best in general). Thus with Dark mode activated you can see or read papers easier without requiring the lights to actually be very bright. This allows you to still see things like manual buttons or dials, or read papers (as a passenger) without having the lights bright enough to awaken passengers and makes it harder to attract attention or distract the driver.
For those planning to move around however, soft warm lighting (such as a muddled yellow) can be more effective. This is due to the fact that the brain uses warmer colors in determining depth perception which is needed to navigate safely. Which is best demonstrated by the warm muddled yellow that movie theaters (Like AMC or my personal favorite Classic CInemas) use to illuminate their stairs and pathways leading out of screenings. This is also part of why higher end fog lights on cars are often yellow as it helps a person gauge the distance, while having the added benefit of penetrating Fog and Rain more effectively than simple white lights.
Also while not factual, I love the fact my brother Bill used to use this as a reason why Canonically Batman’s headlights were yellow in TAS. While I think this was more a stylistic choice by the animators, It does make some sense. So, while it's taken several years to admit…. 9 year old Bill wins that discussion. However I know you’ll get annoyed by the false-pun in today's title so i guess we’re even.
Fun Fact #673
For those who have issues with their circadian rhythms (which control the sleep cycle) many doctors will encourage or even prescribe Melatonin supplements which boost the Melatonin levels which the Circadian Rhythm is supposed to produce. This can be beneficial as it often results in longer, deeper sleep in those who use it –which is why it's often touted as the cure to Insomnia. Interestingly, there is emerging research which shows that many cognitive deterioration diseases are linked to a reduction in the body’s ability to produce melatonin. This is great news for those suffering from diseases like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's as –while most of the studies investigating this are ongoing– Melatonin supplements can reduce the severity or even in some cases halt these diseases for a time. Yet this is bad news for those without these diseases as prolonged use of Melatonin supplements can encourage the body to produce less. This is why The World Health Organization currently holds the hypothesis that Melatonin supplements in those without a natural deficiency may increase risk of Cognitive decline diseases –although not enough research has been done yet to prove this.
Perhaps a better solution to the sleep issue raised by blue light is to minimize that light in the first place. This can be done with glasses made to filter our blue light (for those who work with computers for long hours during the night) or to activate a “Sleeping Mode” on your devices. Most phone and even laptop companies have this setting nowadays and it works by changing the light emitted to avoid emitting blue, often accomplished by switching to greyscale. You can even go into your display settings to set this on a schedule to activate between certain hours of the day (Ex: 8:30pm-2:40am).
Yes this image is from “Its a Wonderful Life” because it makes for a wonderful (copyright free) example of Greyscale used in an image. Plus it's just a good movie. If you disagree then don't ring any bells (poor Clarence).
Fun Fact #674
