Which light color makes tired?

Why your light makes you totally unproductive in the evening

Tired by light - is that even possible? If you think it's the darkness that makes you tired, you're actually wrong. In fact, you're probably involuntarily making yourself tired earlier in the evening - and literally making your eyes fall shut. The reason: You're using the wrong light color. In this article, you'll find out what that color is and what colors you should use instead.

The day has 24 hours: What that does to your body

Sunlight has been the first and only source of light for man. Even today we know: When the sun is perpendicular in the sky, it must be around noon. In the past, the position of the sun helped people estimate the time of day and decide whether the hunt for the mammoth was still worthwhile - not that it would soon be dark.

But the sun does not only provide information about the course of the day with its light. It controlled then - and still controls today - our biorhythm.

How does she do it?

During the course of the day, sunlight hits the atmosphere at a wide variety of angles. This affects not only the intensity of the sun's rays, but also their light color.

In everyday life, we hardly notice this change in light. But our body - it does very well. More precisely, our eyes and our brain do. They know: "Aha, now we have excessively blue light. Time to really turn it up."

It's noon: time to go blue

So blue means action. Why? Because sunlight is not only brightest at midday. It also has a particularly high blue content.

Blue sunlight?

Granted: The light doesn't really look blue to the human eye. But if you concentrate on the light and its color, you will notice: At midday, the sunlight is particularly bright and white.

The result: Around midday, the sky is at its brightest and at the same time has the highest blue content. This light color is also known as daylight white. Towards evening, the sunlight becomes more and more orange and thus appears cozier. This light color is called warm white.

Have you ever taken a closer look at the packaging of your lamps? Nowadays, the light color of the corresponding LED lamps is indicated on the packaging as standard. Namely in Kelvin. The higher the number, the bluer the light.

If you were to specify the light of the midday sun in Kelvin, it would be about 5,500 K. In the evening, on the other hand, it would be 3,000 K.

The evening begins: Orange times are dawning

In the evening we start to get tired. This is how it should be. The body gradually adjusts to sleep. And the colors of light around it play a crucial role in this. They influence our tiredness. And also set the release of the sleep hormone melatonin in motion.

But how does the light behave in the evening. Why does man become tired?

A look at the evening sun gives you the answer. As soon as the sun slowly sets, its light first appears particularly yellow. And then orange. This light has a cozy effect on us humans. Or even romantic. Just think back to the last tearjerker you saw on TV. Nothing works here without the obligatory sunset.

But now back to the topic.

In the evening, natural light thus appears yellow or orange. This light color signals to our body: "Soon it will be time to go to bed. You can start to get tired." If, on the other hand, we were still dealing with light with a high blue content around us, it would signal to our body: "Time to be awake."

Fortunately, Mother Nature has arranged everything sensibly for us. And provides us with the right light in the evening to get tired.

Ha! It's not that simple after all.

The problem: Artificial lights, such as those found in our households, thwart the sun. Economical LEDs - as they are standard nowadays - give us the desired brightness (we don't want to be wandering around in the dark from 5 p.m. in winter). But: LED light usually has a color temperature with a high blue content. And that makes us awake. Meaning: Light on. Awake.

Okay, there are also LEDs with the light color warm white. This corresponds to a maximum of 3,000 Kelvin. If we use these, the problem is solved, isn't it? We surround ourselves with yellow-orange light and our body is not put into wakeful mode.

Unfortunately, not quite. Because LEDs are installed in your smartphone, tablet, laptop and PC, and they usually emit blue-white light. This means that even if you surround yourself with warm white LEDs, the light from your electronic devices will make you wake up.

What does that mean to you?

The solution: avoid blue light in the evening. But how?

What have we learned so far? In summary: The color of light affects our biorhythm. If the light is particularly yellow or orange, then the body adjusts to sleep. It then releases the sleep hormone melatonin, which makes us tired.

White-blue light in turn ensures that our body is signaled that it is daytime or that it should stay awake. So it does the opposite of warm white light, delays melatonin production and suppresses our tiredness.

One way to filter the blue light from its environment is to set the evening mode on our electrical devices, for example. This function is integrated on modern smartphones and also on some laptops and PCs. It helps in any case. However, this mode does not necessarily filter out all blue light.

An alternative - or additional - solution is the use of Blueblocker glasses. For example, our Lichtblock® Blueblocker glasses filter out 100 percent blue light from your environment. Ideally, you wear them in the evening when you are working on your PC or spending some time on your smartphone. Or even when watching TV before going to bed.

Just give it a try and see if you notice a difference when using Blueblocker glasses or clip-ons.