Creating my own red light district

[Kennerly]

Sorry couldn't resist with the title...

While doing some research on sleep hygiene I came across multiple recommendations to eliminate light from the blue end of the spectrum as bedtime nears. And of course there are plenty of folks peddling products just for this: special screen covers, apps, red light bulbs, etc.

I found a study or two that points in this general direction (particularly if you are a mouse) but as always the product claims seem to greatly exceed the study findings.

So I'm curious if any actual clinicians are taking this seriously, and if so what they recommend. Are any good sleep docs advising patients to use reddish lighting near bedtime? (Does our resident expert have an opinion on red light districts? )

On a related note I've personally had some success with light therapy - using a light box in the morning - and would recommend it as an option for those who have difficulty falling asleep on time.

[Sir NoddinOff]

Don't don't know anything about red light studies and so forth, however when I wake up at night to pee, I slip a pair of red jockey shorts I keep handy over my bedside desk lamp (a florescent light bulb) before turning it on. It yields a soft dull red glow enough for me to move around, adjust my mask and to top up my humidifier. Seems to work for me. I don't think I'd try it with an incandescent light bulb because they run too hot. Fire danger and whatnot.

[chunkyfrog]

I have read that some of these "houses" placed a sewing machine in the window--visible day and night.
{{{Be careful where you put your sewing machine.}}}

[Kennerly]

Don't don't know anything about red light studies and so forth, however when I wake up at night to pee, I slip a pair of red jockey shorts I keep handy over my bedside desk lamp (a florescent light bulb) before turning it on. It yields a soft dull red glow enough for me to move around, adjust my mask and to top up my humidifier. Seems to work for me. I don't think I'd try it with an incandescent light bulb because they run too hot. Fire danger and whatnot.

Now there's an image for the imagination. SNO I nominate you for the BCAE award: "Best CPAP Accessory Ever"

[Janknitz]

Personally, I don't think many clinicians take lifestyle issues too seriously when they clearly should. Most clinicians diagnose and throw medications at things, they don't know or care much about things like diet and circadian rhythms, and lifestyle changes. A few are finally starting to get on board (mostly Functional MD's, Naturopathic MD's, and Integrative MDs). Sleep doctors--for the most part NO.

There's a simple and inexpensive solution if you want to do an N=1 experiment and see for yourself if it helps. Buy a pair of amber colored safety goggles on Amazon for under $10. Keep the lights dim after dinner and wear the goggles until you go to sleep in your darkened bedroom. If you have to turn on a light to check something during the night (even a flashlight), put the goggles back on first. The other important part of this is that you should expose yourself to bright sunlight first thing in the morning--take a walk outside or sit on the patio to eat your breakfast and read the paper (not so easy in the middle of winter!).

I have tried this with mixed results. It may be the placebo effect, but I do find I get sleepy earlier and want to go to bed earlier when I do the goggles. It may be the placebo effect, but even so, since I'm a night owl, that's a good thing--since I have to get up at the same time, no matter when I go to sleep. Falling asleep is not my issue. I don't find that the goggles particularly help me STAY asleep, which is my sleeping issue right now.

Worse case scenario is that I'm out $8 and my kids got a good laugh ("Mom, do you do everything the internet says?" was my extremely logical 21 year old daughter's remark). And my husband doesn't have to enter the "red light district"

[palerider]

I've got a strip of those RGB LEDS around the pedestal under the waterbed, normally I keep it on a very dim red glow, just enough to see the floor, and more importantly, the bed... running into a 2200lb waterbed with one's shin at night is.... memorable... the bed doesn' care, at all.

[Kennerly]

Sooo...I've got 3 options so far...a sort of red Christmas light effect around the waterbed ... or stumbling around in amber goggles ... or putting red skivvies over the desk lamp...

Well you ask an odd question whaddaya expect right?

Janknitz, have you tried to sort of "calibrate" the effect with the amber goggles by starting with them an hour or so later?

[Janknitz]

Janknitz, have you tried to sort of "calibrate" the effect with the amber goggles by starting with them an hour or so later?

Yes, simply by forgetting.

[TyroneShoes]

I've got a strip of those RGB LEDS around the pedestal under the waterbed, normally I keep it on a very dim red glow, just enough to see the floor, and more importantly, the bed... running into a 2200lb waterbed with one's shin at night is.... memorable... the bed doesn' care, at all.

1982 just called, and it wants its waterbed back.

[TyroneShoes]

... I've personally had some success with light therapy - using a light box in the morning - and would recommend it as an option for those who have difficulty falling asleep on time.

That's interesting. I do not have that issue, but I have used a light box since about 1995. I set it to come on every morning about 5:30 (the earliest sunrise here all year is at 5:18) which keeps my circadian cycle from getting whipsawed through the seasons, which keeps my neuroceptors flooded rather than starved, resulting in no depression. That, and SAM-E, have all but vanquished my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Living in a latitude closer to the equator is also helpful (swings of sunrise and sunset are not as wild). It's not so much about how much light you get (more is still better), but about when you get it.

Also, another key there is the blue spectrum of the light. A cool color temp of light from a light box, usually used in the morning like I use it, is supposedly helpful, and more helpful than the warm color temp of incandescent. Probably because the color temp of sunlight is cool also.

So if we extrapolate, a warm color temp (red light qualifies) makes a certain amount of sense as a nightlight.

[palerider]

1982 just called, and it wants its waterbed back.

I've had this waterbed longer than that.

it can't have it back.

[chunkyfrog]

Hubby misses the waterbed. We will probably switch back next bed.
It may be awhile; the cheapie memory foam is holding up nicely.

[Drowsy Dancer]

Also, you can install a program called f.lux on your computer that makes the screen light less blue and more red after sundown (it pulls the time of sunset from your location). I use it sometimes.

[palerider]

Also, you can install a program called f.lux on your computer that makes the screen light less blue and more red after sundown (it pulls the time of sunset from your location). I use it sometimes.

f.lux http://www.justgetflux.com is also available for tablets and phones and, well, most screens that shine blue WAKEYWAKEY light in your eyes.

reading on phones/tablets is really bad for sleep patterns.

[MountainHigh]

I'll add my suggestion to the list - it is a free app called Twilight, available on Android for sure. Very user-friendly, allows you to configure the intensity of the "orange" effect.