A single 30 min. exposure to blue-wavelength light can increase subsequent activation in brain regions critical for successful working memory performance and improve response times, a new study suggests.

Previous studies have shown that exposure to blue light, which is similar to the type of light you get on a bright sunny day, leads to increases in alertness and better performance on reaction time tasks, while being exposed.

“Our study adds to this literature by showing that exposure to 30 minutes of blue light in comparison to 30 minutes of amber light led to subsequently better performance on a cognitive task 40 minutes after the blue-light exposure period had ended,” Dr Alkozei, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona in Tucson, told MedScape News.

The findings were presented at SLEEP 2016: the 30th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Continue reading →