Room Mood Lighting

[escapefate]

anyone else do mood lighting at home? I am looking for ideas. I currently have a my room done in blue with about 100 blue LEDs and 1 incandescent blub.

also I have always heard that black lights are really bad for your skin and eyes but isnt it just a filter over the light? why would it be any worse than full white light?

also looking to stay away from florescent lights. Post some pics of your house or bed room lighting if its colored lighting.

:san:

 

[pschlosser]

Blue light contains more energy than red light. UV contains even more energy. The shorter the wavelength, the more energy the light has. Light from the blue end of the spectrum charges glow-in-the-dark items faster and makes neon colors glow brighter.

The phosphorescence we see in some materials may occur with only UV light.

Black light is supposed to be light including UV. Since florescent bulbs produce light by coaxing mercury atoms to produce UV light, they make excellent "Black light" sources. The blue-filter simply allows some visible near-bandwidth light through giving the light its characteristic violet color. But true UV we cannot see. Incandescent sources produce UV as well, but at much lower levels.

Mood lighting is great for setting a mood. I use a blue scenario like you're describing in my home theater room. And red may have it's place in the bedroom. But these are not daily occurrences (sadly)

I would avoid frequent exposure to black light and other UV light sources. And favor full-spectrum lighting, unless "setting a mood." If you find yourself in need of constant mood-setting light, there may be psychotropic pharmaceuticals that fill your need without impacting your eyesight.

 

[SKeeZ]

I am looking to do a red led ceiling in my new house, blue and UV are the only wavelengths that inhibit production of sleep-causing chemicals in the body, its a pretty color but it may make it hard to sleep. red is a comforting color and probably a much better option.

 

[escapefate]

are you saying blue light prevents my body from producing melatonin ? i have sleep issues already. but its more about waking up. maybe I could try to turn them on an hour before i need to wakeup

 

[Flaminpyro]

I recently bought a couple of these and plan on putting them around the room for some mood lighting>
Waterproof 72W 300-LED 5050 SMD RGB Light Strip w/ Mini RGB Remote Control - White (5M / DC 12V) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

There are better ones out there but they cost more and these will do the job.

 

[SKeeZ]

are you saying blue light prevents my body from producing melatonin ? i have sleep issues already. but its more about waking up. maybe I could try to turn them on an hour before i need to wakeup

Yes, blue is the only component of white light that reduces your body's capability to produce melatonin.

 

[pschlosser]

it's hard to imagine that while 95% of my body is under the covers that blue light in the room will keep me awake. I guess it's possible. :thinking:

 

[Javalin]

Reading this thread reminded me of a study I read a while back:

Friday January 16 12:49 PM EST
Light On Knees Affects Body's Clock

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Bright light shining on the back of the knees can help set the body's 24-hour internal clock, a new study suggests.

The findings demonstrate there is literally more than meets the eye when it comes to using bright light for changing the circadian clock that tells our bodies when to sleep and when to eat.

They also raise the possibility of new ways for using bright light to treat sleep problems, including those associated with jet lag and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) -- treatments that can be used when the person is asleep.

The circadian clock times a wide range of behavioral and bodily functions by controlling temperature and the release of hormones. And until now it has been widely believed that it is set by daily and seasonal changes in the light that enters through the eyes.

"But our results challenge this belief. The study demonstrates that circadian rhythms in humans can be altered simply by shining light on the backs of people's knees," says Dr. Scott Campbell, director of the Laboratory of Human Chronobiology at Cornell University Medical College in White Plains, New York.

Writing in the journal Science, Campbell and colleague Dr. Patricia Murphy describe an experiment in which volunteers agreed to spend four days at their laboratory in a dimly lit suite. Periodically, they sat in a reclining chair while the backs of their knees were exposed to bright light delivered through a fiber-optic pad in a housing strapped to their legs. The pad was adapted from those used to treat infants born with neonatal jaundice. None of the volunteers knew exactly when the light source was switched on.

The knee was chosen as the site of the experiment because it was far from the eye, therefore minimizing any risk that light shown would enter the subject's eye.

The researchers noted that the light exposure on the back of the knee was associated with shifts in the timing of body temperature changes and in the release of the hormone melatonin from the pineal gland, located deep in the brain.

Moreover, as would be expected with exposure to bright light through the eyes, these shifts depended on the timing of the exposure. For example, light directed to the backs of the knees prior to dawn advanced the circadian clock, so that by the next day the timing of temperature changes and melatonin release occurred earlier.

Campbell says he and his colleagues are now conducting experiments to see if bright light applied to the backs of the knees during sleep can help people with circadian rhythm disorders, such as SAD. SOURCE: Science (1998;279:396-398)

It's interesting how little changes in our environment will change our bio-chemistry.