Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 5, 2026
10:08
Transcranial Electrical Brain Stimulation in Alert Rodents
Published on: November 2, 2017
11.3K
Light, Alertness, and Alerting Effects of White Light: A Literature Overview
Renske Lok1, Karin C H J Smolders2, Domien G M Beersma1
1Chronobiology Unit, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Journal of Biological Rhythms
|September 8, 2018
Summary
Daytime white light intensity
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Chronobiology
- Photobiology
Background:
- Light exposure influences non-image-forming responses, notably alertness.
- Nighttime light effects on alertness are documented but may not apply to daytime conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review neural mechanisms of alertness regulation.
- To discuss methods for measuring alertness.
- To synthesize literature on daytime white light intensity and alertness.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis.
- Analysis of studies on light intensity and alertness measures.
- Identification of research gaps and methodological limitations.
Main Results:
- Current literature on daytime white light intensity's alerting effects is inconclusive, especially for objective measures.
- Varied research paradigms and limited lighting conditions in prior studies hinder definitive conclusions.
Conclusions:
- Systematic, dose-dependent research using multiple alertness correlates is needed.
- Further investigation into the alerting potential of higher intensity white light during the day is warranted.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:16Light Acquisition
9.6K
In order to produce glucose, plants need to capture sufficient light energy. Many modern plants have evolved leaves specialized for light acquisition. Leaves can be only millimeters in width or tens of meters wide, depending on the environment. Due to competition for sunlight, evolution has driven the evolution of increasingly larger leaves and taller plants, to avoid shading by their neighbors with contaminant elaboration of root architecture and mechanisms to transport water and nutrients.
9.6K
01:35Light as Energy
96.0K
The energy required to carry out photosynthesis is light— typically electromagnetic radiation from the sun. The range of all possible wavelengths is known as the electromagnetic spectrum.
Photons
A photon is a discrete electromagnetic particle or bundle of energy. Photons are characterized by their frequency, wavelength, and amplitude, similar to the properties of a wave. Waves with higher frequencies transmit more energy and have shorter wavelengths than longer wavelengths that transmit...
Photons
A photon is a discrete electromagnetic particle or bundle of energy. Photons are characterized by their frequency, wavelength, and amplitude, similar to the properties of a wave. Waves with higher frequencies transmit more energy and have shorter wavelengths than longer wavelengths that transmit...
96.0K
02:12The Wave Nature of Light
61.5K
The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.
61.5K
02:00Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light
28.5K
Light plays a significant role in regulating the growth and development of plants. In addition to providing energy for photosynthesis, light provides other important cues to regulate a range of developmental and physiological responses in plants.
28.5K
01:16Focusing of Light in the Eye
6.0K
Light rays enter the eye through the cornea, a transparent dome-shaped tissue that is the eye's outermost layer. The cornea bends or refracts, light rays traveling to the pupil. The shape of the cornea determines how much of the light is bent and whether the image will be focused correctly on the retina at the back of the eye. Once the light has passed through both refraction layers, it converges into a single focal point onto a small area. This is where photoreceptors start transforming...
6.0K
01:27Effects of Chemicals: Overview
2.2K
Drugs, encompassing various chemical compounds from natural sources, lab synthesis, or genetic engineering, elicit different biological responses in living organisms. Some of these responses are desirable or therapeutic, while others are undesirable. The primary goal of administering a drug is to achieve a therapeutic effect, that is, to address a specific disease or health condition. Any concurrent effects outside of this therapeutic outcome are considered undesirable. These undesirable...
2.2K