PART THREE - A: THE BEST CIRCADIAN NIGHTTIME ENVIRONMENT

Learn how your ambient environment programs your circadian rhythm at night.

Summary:

• Circadian disruption leads to “worse than drunk” performance, according to the Navy¹

• Circadian disruption is associated with all different mood disorders²

• The circadian rhythm ties our biology to the seasons³

• Chronotype varies on a population-basis based on the time of sunrise⁴

• Using artificial light unnaturally condenses sleep; polyphasic sleep is the natural sleep pattern for varying lighting conditions⁵

• Polyphasic sleep, spending longer time in bed and darkness, may be more realistic for new mothers to aspire to

• As much as we celebrate “night owls”, as a culture, darkness is associated with bad, evil, etc.

• LEDs have made evening brightness an even bigger problem for sleep and circadian rhythms⁶

• Bright lights stimulate cortisol release to make us more alert by activating every system in the body⁷

• The broad effects of cortisol can affect different people differently⁸

• Activity: LIGHTING INVENTORY

• Different kinds of lightbulbs have different effects on the circadian rhythm

• Blue- and green- enric…