Our diet, exercise and sleep-wake pattern are three important factors regulating biological clock which are also mentioned in Ayurved as Ahar, Vihar and Nidra respectively. Today we will talk about sleep wake pattern or effect of light.
Light is the major external
signal that sets our internal clock. The solar 24-hour cycle has existed for more than 4
billion years, and it has led to the evolution of circadian rhythms in most
organisms. Environmental light is the strongest synchronizer for the circadian
system, and phase-resetting capacities to light mainly depend on time of day,
light intensity, and spectral composition. We spend most of the time in
artificial light either at home or at office which has light intensity in the
range of 300 – 500 lux whereas the day light intensity during clear sky is
between 50,000 – 1,00,000 lux. Light exerts acute effects on subjective
alertness and cognitive performance, and it inhibits the secretion of melatonin
or sleep hormone by the pineal gland.
Acute light effects are
dependent on the photo-pigment melanopsin which is present in the retina of eye
and are stronger when light contains a greater proportion of blue light. Limited exposure to
sufficient natural light disturbs the natural rhythm of melatonin and cortisol
secretion which affects our majority of the bodily activities.
Chronobiological knowledge of how light affects human behavior has begun to be implemented at work places, in schools and in clinical environments. There are still strong experimental evidences required to test, predict and apply optimal lighting conditions for different populations and patients, in terms of spectral composition, light intensity, and dynamics. Also, geographical latitude, building exposure, and building properties play an important role.
Artificial light sources are widely used in our everyday lives to illuminate streets and our homes. There has been a change to use more energy efficient technologies such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and an increase in the use of digital screens. Artificial lights can vary widely in their brightness and colour composition, including how much blue light they emit. These properties, together with the timing and duration of their use, can alter how these light sources may affect health and the environment.
Despite the multitude of studies investigating light effects on humans, it is still unclear how much light is needed during daytime to stay fully entrained to the environmental light-dark cycle. This becomes an important topic in our round-the-clock society, since the time we spend outside during the day progressively decreases, whereas the time we spend with light-emitting devices during the night increases.
Humans have evolved to use daylight and darkness to regulate circadian rhythms, which is important for our health and wellbeing. Increasing exposure to natural daylight, particularly in the morning, can help synchronise the body clock with the solar day. Limiting the amount of light at night is also important for circadian health.
Advances in lighting technology have provided possible ways of reducing adverse lighting effects and enhancing other desired effects. Compared with earlier lighting technologies, LEDs provide precise optical control and more opportunity to change and tune their spectral distribution, allowing lighting designers to reduce obtrusive effects from light scattering into unintended areas.
Effect of light on our body is dependent on the Ayurvedic dosha which constitute your Prakriti. Doshas vary during 24 hours cycle and finding out individual Prakriti would be beneficial to understand the sleep wake pattern. Vata people has superficial sleep and can be disturbed easily as compared to Kapha people who spend more time in deep Non-REM sleep as compared to two other types of Prakriti. Pitta people are also light sleepers but can fall back asleep easily if disturbed during the sleep. Sleep requirements may vary based on your Prakriti type along with other parameters.
I will recommend to find out your chronoprakriti from our website and maintain a sleep diary for a least one week to follow your sleep wake pattern.
For more details do visit: www.chronoprakriti.com
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