Blue Light

Article Talking About the Study: http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/resources/newsroom/pr_story.asp?id=182
Study's Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20150866?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1

When I gave my presentation last Tuesday I brought up the topic of blue light in relation to how much sleep teenagers are getting based on a study I had found while researching melatonin. The study was testing the importance of blue light by having 11 eight grade students wear specialized glasses that stopped blue light from reaching their eyes. They did the study for five days and by the end of the study there was a 30-minute delay in sleep onset. So by delaying blue light onset, it delayed sleep onset by 6 minutes each day they were restricted from it, which over time can significantly add up.
The implication of the study was that a lack of morning light could be a strong factor in later bed times for teenagers. Especially since there are periods of time where it is especially dark in the morning when teenagers are heading to school, sometimes the sun doesn't rise before they enter their school building. The positives are that school schedules would not necessarily have to be moved forward if school room designs allowed more sunlight inside their rooms or other adequate light sources.
From the research I've been making on the biology of sleep, light seems to be a really important factor in how much sleep teenagers are getting, and I wanted to share this particularly interesting study.