Her family’s apartment on East 49th Street in Midtown Manhattan, she replaced the existing lighting in all three bedrooms with bulbs designed to help the body sleep at night and stay alert during the day. In the lamp by her mother’s bedroom chair, for example, she placed a Good Night bulb by Lighting Science, with depleted blue spectrum light to help lull her to sleep. And for her 16-year-old son, she outfitted his desk lamp with Lighting Science’s Awake and Alert bulb, with, conversely, more blue light to help him focus.
, is among a small, but growing, group of people who are altering the lighting in their homes not just for aesthetics, but for health, too.
Light interferes with our circadian rhythm, the internal clock that tells our bodies when to sleep, when to wake up and when to eat. Stare at a bright, bluish light — like the one from your smartphone, tablet or television — and your body sends a signal to your brain to stop producing melatonin, a powerful hormone that helps you fall asleep.