Blue light aids in coping with the post-lunch dip: an EEG study

Abstract

The ‘post-lunch dip’ is a commonly experienced period of drowsiness in the afternoon hours. If this inevitable period can be disrupted by an environmental cue, the result will be enhanced workplace performance. Because blue light is known to be a critical cue for entraining biological rhythms, we investigated whether blue light illumination can be a practical strategy for coping with the post-lunch dip. Twenty healthy participants underwent a continuous performance test, during which the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded under four different illumination conditions: dark ( < 0.3 lx), 33% blue-enriched light, 66% blue-enriched light and white polychromatic light. As a result, exposure to blue-enriched light during the post-lunch dip period significantly reduced the EEG alpha activity, and increased task performance. Since desynchronisation of alpha activity reflects enhancement of vigilance, our findings imply that blue light might disrupt the post-lunch dip. Subsequent exploration of illumination parameters will be beneficial for possible chronobiological and ergonomic applications.

Abstract

Practitioner Summary: As blue light is a crucial cue to entrain human circadian rhythms, we investigated whether blue light can cope with the post-lunch dip. As a result, blue light significantly improved cognitive performance, and reduced the EEG alpha activity, reflecting enhancement of vigilance. Therefore, blue light helps in avoiding the post-lunch dip.

Keywords::

• blue light
• EEG alpha activity
• illumination
• post-lunch dip
• work efficacy

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Notes

^1. Email: [email protected]

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a 2013 research grant from LG electronics and the Basic Science Research Program [grant number 2012R1A1A1038358], which is funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, through the National Research Foundation of Korea.