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Light affects our sleeping patterns<\/a>.\u00a0Distinct aspects of it, like brightness or color, each have a big impact on how we sleep. Subsequently, we tend to see the widespread use of artificial light as problematic.\u00a0Blazing LED lamps keep our surroundings bright well into the evening, and\u00a0harsh screen back lights push our bedtimes back by hours.<\/p>\n But artificial light does have one thing going for it: We can tailor it to better suit our needs!\u00a0Man made light fixtures can vary in size, brightness,\u00a0and even color. Want to sleep better? You can choose better fixtures.<\/p>\n Brighter lights are worse for inducing sleepiness, obviously; but intensity\u00a0shouldn’t be the only\u00a0consideration when picking out your lights. Tint, for example, can be just as important—and when it comes to artificial lights, that means taking a closer look at the concept\u00a0of\u00a0color temperature<\/em>.<\/p>\n Color temperature refers to the quality <\/em>of light. Specifically, it indicates the tint of the emitted light. Two bulbs may both emit “white” light, for example; but if they have different color temperatures, the feel<\/em> of their emissions will not be the same.<\/strong><\/p>\n A working light bulb will feel warm to the touch, but let’s be clear: that\u00a0is not\u00a0color temperature. In fact, the idea of color temperature has very little to do with how warm or cold a light fixture actually runs when used.<\/p>\n Bulbs with a color temperature in the lower range appear “warmer” to the eye, while those in the upper ranges give off light that looks “cooler.”<\/p>\n Each color corresponds to a certain range of temperatures, which are measured using the Kelvin scale. This phenomenon is the basis for the measurement system called “correlated color temperature”—color temperature for short.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Imagine, for a minute, a slab of a solid black material, like steel or iron. When that material is heated, it begins to glow. The color of that glow shifts as you ratchet up the heat. The block starts with a reddish glow; as you continue applying heat, that glow would move on to orange, and later, blue.<\/p>\n This might seem a bit counter-intuitive, but trust us. The color of your heated block of material will look “cooler” the hotter it is! Colors traditionally thought of as “warm” are actually “cool” when it comes to color temperature. This is\u00a0even true for stars<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can describe the tint of light using the temperature range that would produce the same color glow. You may ask: What range <\/em>do we mean when we talk about color temperature?<\/p>\n When it comes to artificial lighting, bulbs and other sources typically have color temperatures somewhere in the 2000K – 8000K (Kelvin) range. <\/strong><\/p>\n Below is\u00a0a brief look at what common color temperature ratings mean, and what kind of effects you can expect from each.<\/p>\n How can a deeper understanding of color temperature help you sleep better? It’s all about controlling the light that you are exposed to all day and all night—not just near bedtime hours.<\/p>\n For starters, color temperature gives you another good metric for picking lights to put in your bedroom. Most artificial lights today use LEDs, which skew closer to the blue end of the color temperature spectrum.<\/p>\n As you might have gleaned from our article on melanopsin<\/a>, bluish light can have a negative impact on your sleeping patterns. In fact, studies have shown that exposure to lights with higher color temperatures<\/a> (a bluer tint) can reduce the amount of time you spend in stage 4 or REM sleep<\/a>.<\/p>\n For your bedroom, it’s better to\u00a0install lights that give off a warmer tint\u00a0and have a lower color temperature rating. This can be as simple as using incandescent bulbs, or LEDs that have been specifically designed to emit softer, warmer lighting.<\/p>\n On a budget? Giving warmer tint lights a shot in the bedroom can be as easy as using affordable night lights you can plug directly into a wall power outlet. You don’t need to change or adapt your existing fixtures! Here are some of our favorite options:<\/p>\n All three don’t block other sockets when you plug them in, plus they use\u00a0long-lasting LEDs that emit red light. They also come with sensors that automatically turn on the product when it’s dark and off when it’s not.<\/p>\n We’ve got a few more tips about crafting a bedroom that’s designed and lit<\/a>\u00a0for better sleep, so be sure to check those out, too!<\/p>\n Color temperature can also help you be more strategic in light fixture placement throughout your home, or even your workplace. After all, light’s regulatory influence on our circadian rhythms doesn’t begin and end at bedtime; our exposure throughout the day adds up.<\/p>\n If you spend a lot of time indoors or exposed to artificial light, you can use color temperature to design lighting environments that mimic the natural progression of daylight.<\/p>\n If you spend most of the day in your home office, you can install lights in the 3600-6500K range to simulate the effects of spending those same hours out in the sun. You can then use light sources with lower color temperatures for those areas where you tend to stay in the late afternoon or early evenings, like your living room or dining room.<\/p>\n A great way to ease in using color temperature cues in your daily life\u00a0is to keep a portable lamp with multiple light settings. Use cooler tinted settings to help energize and wake you up, and warmer tinted settings to coincide with winding down for the day. Below are some affordable recommendations to start you off:<\/p>\n All three are rechargeable, wireless, and\u00a0utilize\u00a0touch sensor controls to brighten or dim the light source.<\/p>\n Even if\u00a0you’re not inclined to overhaul your lighting installations or buy new products, color temperature can still serve as a good guide for managing your light exposure throughout the day. Modulating the influence of light on your sleeping patterns can be as simple as moving to spaces with more appropriate color temperatures as needed.<\/p>\n If you’re feeling sluggish and need a subtle boost, for example, you could relocate to a section of your workspace with brighter, more bluish lighting. Conversely, if you’re winding down for the day, you could turn off brighter light sources in your vicinity or switch over to a softer, warmer light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jump to: What Is Color Temperature? How Do We Measure Color Temperature? What Is the Color Temperature Range? How Do We Use Color Temperature for Better Sleep? Light affects our sleeping patterns.\u00a0Distinct aspects of it, like brightness or color, each have a big impact on how we sleep. Subsequently, we tend to see the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2518,"parent":2345,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"article-template.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2512"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2512"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4195,"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2512\/revisions\/4195"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>What Is Color Temperature?<\/h2>\n
<\/a>How Do We Measure Color Temperature?<\/h2>\n
![\"Lone](\"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Lone-candle-800x533.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>What Is the Color Temperature Range?<\/h2>\n
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![\"Color](\"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Color-Temperature-Range-800x205.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>How Do We Use Color Temperature for Better Sleep?<\/h2>\n
1. Using Color Temperature in the Bedroom<\/h3>\n
![\"Emagine](\"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/emagine-A-red-LED-night-light-e1547196048463-800x600.jpg\")
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2. Using Color Temperature in the Home and the Workplace<\/h3>\n
![\"Facelink](\"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Facelink-3D-magical-moon-LED-night-light-800x800.jpg\")
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3. Using Color Temperature as a Guide for Managing Light Exposure<\/h3>\n