Interesting Study

Those of us that have Menieres and/or migraines are negatively affected by light and lighting. The following study may shed some light (pun not intended) on our malady.

Study is decoding blue light's mysterious ability to alter body's natural clock
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health is unraveling the mystery of how blue light from residential and commercial lighting, electronic devices and outdoor lights can throw off-kilter the natural body clock of humans, plants and animals, leading to disease.

Exposure to blue light is on the increase, says chemist Brian D. Zoltowski, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, who leads the study, "Protein : Protein interaction networks in the circadian clock."

At the right time of day, blue light is a good thing. It talks to our 24-hour circadian clock, telling our bodies, for example, when to wake up, eat and carry out specific metabolic functions.

In plants, blue light signals them to leaf out, grow, blossom and bloom. In animals, it aids migratory patterns, sleep and wake cycles, regulation of metabolism, as well as mood and the immune system.

But too much blue light—especially at the wrong time—throws biological signaling out of whack.

"As a society, we are using more technology, and there's increasing evidence that artificial light has had a negative consequence on our health," said Zoltowski, an assistant professor in SMU's Department of Chemistry.

"Our study uses physical techniques and chemical approaches to probe an inherently biological problem," he said. "We want to understand the chemical basis for how organisms use light as an environmental cue to regulate growth and development."

Zoltowski's lab was awarded $320,500 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health to continue its research on the impact of blue light.