Think it’s tough to fall asleep on earth? Just try to imagine what it’s been like for all the astronauts inhabiting the International Space Station (ISS) over the last 15 years. They experience day and night light patterns once every 90 minutes. Lighting can help. Even back on terra firma, people use lights to help lift spirits and regulate sleep when, say, the light is scarce in the winter.
Now, a space-age solution is, figuratively, making the trip from the ISS to Earth thanks to Lighting Science. The company developed lighting technologies that sought to mimic natural light patterns and, as a result may be helping astronauts find some semblance of circadian rhythm normalcy. Prototypes featuring similar, LED-based technology were first installed on the ISS in 2008.
Lighting Science's director of research Rob Soler worked at NASA and was part of the team that developed the original ISS LED lighting prototype. "The average astronaut gets about four hours of sleep per night," Soler told me, adding, "historically 70% of all medication on ISS are sleep aids of some type."
For earth, the company is working on three new LED lighting solutions, which will all be unveiled at CES 2014: Awake & Alert, Good Night and the Rhythm Downlight.
New-fangled lightblulbs may not seem like the next big thing, but when your 40- or 60-watt bulb burns out in a few months, you may be shopping for a high-tech lightning option, anyway. As of 2014, the U.S. will stop manufacturing and importing incandescent 60 and 40 watt bulbs. Many homes have already switched to compact fluorescent bulbs (one of the reasons home electricity use plummeted in 2013). However, despite the energy savings, most of the CFLs are not particularly high-tech or all that good for the environment (they contain trace amounts of mercury). LED-based bulbs are the next big thing. Owing to their digital nature, manufacturers can do a lot more with them than simply light a room.
Lighting Science's Rhythm Downlight, for instance, can fit in most recessed lighting receptacles and communicates with a companion mobile app via Bluetooth connection. Users answer questions about their schedule in the mobile app and the light, according to a Lighting Science release, automatically adjusts its lighting properties “to optimize sleep or wakefulness.” This mostly involves adjusting the level of blue light the Rhythm emits. More blue light means less melatonin, which means you stay awake.
Soler explained that the same programming technology found in Rhythm is currently under review by NASA for Spaceflight qualification and could be installed on the ISS by 2015.
Awake & Alert, which is not programmable, boosts blue light to help give you an energy boost at any time of the day. Similarly, Good Night uses reduced blue levels to help you fall asleep. The use of blue light and wakefulness and attitude adjustment is nothing new. Phillips, for example, has its own line of “Light Therapy” bulbs.
Awake and Good Night lights list for $69.99 and are available online from Lighting Science andHomeDepot.com. No pricing has been set for Rhythm Downlight, which should ship by the end of Q3, 2014.
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