Blue promotes a feeling of calmness and serenity. It can also be linked to feelings of trust, stability, and dependability. One study by Travelodge found that households that have blue bedrooms received the best night's sleep compared to any other color.
Research studies discovered red to be the best color light to help you sleep, because it increases production of melatonin as well as full darkness. On the other end of the spectrum, blue is the worst.
The University of Sussex and British papermaker G.F. Smith did research that found navy blue is a calming color—in fact, the most relaxing color in the world.
The worst colors for sleep are likely those that are both stimulating and provoke negative emotions, since this may prevent relaxation. In general, people tend to find warm colors with long wavelengths, such as red and yellow, the most stimulating.
The color blue is associated with calm and relaxation, and has even been shown to reduce blood pressure and to relax the mind. That makes for a good segway into a night of sleep! Yellow and green were also shown to be relatively sleep-inducing colors.
The best night light colours for sleep are red and amber, as they are warm and soothing colour that promote a good night's sleep. It's thought that colours close to red on the light spectrum stimulate melatonin production. Red light has a lower colour temperature than regular sunlight, making it ideal for sleep.
Blue light suppresses the body's release of melatonin. View Source , a hormone that makes us feel drowsy. While this promotes wakefulness during the day, it becomes unhelpful at night when we are trying to sleep.
New research claims that dark blue is the world's most relaxing colour. Research carried out by the University of Sussex and paper company G.F Smith, draws on a survey of 26,596 people, from more than 100 countries.
Red light is by far the best calming light color for sleep. Choosing a red light as a nightlight ensures that you don't disrupt your circadian rhythm. So switching to a red light a few hours before going to bed will surely help you fall asleep easier.
Blue light suppresses the body's release of melatonin. View Source , a hormone that makes us feel drowsy. While this promotes wakefulness during the day, it becomes unhelpful at night when we are trying to sleep.
Red light therapy can be an effective tool in helping to improve sleep quality and duration. This is because exposure to red light increases the production of melatonin in the brain, which helps regulate our circadian rhythms and makes us feel more rested during waking hours.
How do different colors of light affect our ability to fall asleep? Scientists from Oxford University have the answer. Last year, the team tested green, blue, and violet light on mice. They found that green light produced rapid sleep onset — between 1 and 3 minutes while blue and violet delayed sleep.
A 2017 study reported in the scientific journal PLOS ONE (3) found that blue lighting leads to post-stress relaxation three times as quickly as conventional white lighting. Blue light's potential calming effects have been observed outside scientific studies as well.
University of Oxford. "Lighting color affects sleep, wakefulness: Green light promotes sleep while blue light delays it, find researchers." ScienceDaily.
Some people worry that sleeping with LED lights on is harmful, and can disrupt our natural circadian rhythms. If you can only sleep with the light on, you should consider changing your sleep schedule and environment. However, LED lights are safe for all applications.
Research has shown that exposure to red light can improve sleep. View Source and increase the production of melatonin. Exposure to red light during sleep and upon waking can reduce the likelihood of feeling tired and disoriented in the morning, known as sleep inertia.
Overall, while red light doesn't necessarily promote sleep, it is less disruptive than other types of light, experts said. The bottom line is that when it comes to sleep, “what's better than red light is no light,” Dasgupta said.
Red Light and Sleep
Red light is by far the superior choice when choosing a nightlight that won't disrupt your circadian rhythm. Naturally, waking up in the middle of the night isn't ideal regardless, however, exposing your eyes to red light will be better than blue or green.
In the morning, the blue light (from sunlight) wakes us up by reactivating the melanopsin to produce electrical signals. The brain responds to these signals and promotes wakefulness. In this way, blue light controls our sleep-wake patterns.
Protect yourself from blue light at night
Avoid looking at bright screens beginning two to three hours before bed. If you work a night shift or use a lot of electronic devices at night, consider wearing blue-blocking glasses or installing an app that filters the blue/green wavelength at night.
It is an interesting trait that deep red lights do not trigger the neutralization of the rhodopsin, so astronomers and safety officials use red lights for night lighting to allow night vision to continue.