Why SAD lamps don't make us happy
LEDs | Biological energy efficiency
Here’s what we’ll learn in this article:
1. What is energy efficiency?
2. Recent LED lawsuit by The Soft Lights Foundation
3. Why is the quality of LEDs radically different?
4. How our brains perceive flicker - neurological impacts
5. Why are LEDs a “bullet” of light?
6. Can LEDs be therapeutic?
7. How does photobiomodulation work?
8. What is circadian lighting?
9. Benefits of full spectrum infrared therapy
10. Our thoughts on SAD lamps
11. A reddit group we recently joined called “fuck your headlights”
Each night after dinner, Bohdanna and I march outdoors for a brisk walk. Since LED streetlights have been installed in our neighborhood, our evening strolls have turned into a perilous adventure, dodging beams of phototoxic shrapnel emanating from headlamps, and skirting past dogs with suicidal collars that blind all canine common sense. The heartless blue flame of a boulevard that’s breaking dreams isn’t as energetically-efficient as the hearth our ancestors once gratefully used to warm their calloused hands.
The myth of energy efficiency
The common notion is that LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are more energy efficient. Are they? What does energy efficiency really mean?
energy efficiency: the use of less energy to perform the same task, or produce the same result - The US Department of Energy (DOE)
Let’s break down this definition, and see if it holds true with LEDs, shall we?
Energy efficiency is a measure of how much energy (quantity) it takes for a light to produce the same result (quality).
In some cases, LEDs use less energy. However, they do not produce the same result.
Gratitude to The Soft Lights Foundation
First - I want to thank Mark Baker of The Soft Lights Foundation, whom we interviewed on our podcast.1 Much of the content and ideas in this article are inspired by Mark, who is currently suing the US Food and Drug Administration to comply with 21 U.S.C. Part C. This law mandates that the FDA publish performance standards for LED products. Since the FDA won't comply with the law, court intervention is necessary.
“Do laser beams provide the same level of service as an incandescent light bulb? Of course not. Laser beams are not good for illuminating a room.” - Softlights.org
Why is the quality of LED lights radically different?
There are three reasons why the quality of LEDs is radically different than traditional sources, like what we would find in the Sun and incandescent bulbs.
Let’s analyze these lights, before they dissect us like a frog.
1. Spectral properties
The Sun emits a rich spectrum of color, that plants and animals use to live. Research by photobiologists like Alexander Wunsch has shown that about one-third of the energy our bodies need comes from food, while an astounding two-thirds comes from light. Infrared light is a potent resource for the batteries of our cells - our mitochondria.
Here are some ways the spectrum of modern lighting differs:
In the case of LEDs, you’ll notice that very little infrared is present. The US government calls this type of light, found in incandescents, a waste product. Aside from the biological benefits, infrared also emits heat, which may decrease our electric bills during winter.
Light is also measured in color temperature (Kelvin, K), which fluctuates throughout the day. In the morning, the sky is typically around 3000 K. The higher we get in temperature (K), the brighter the light burns.
An LED light that is programmed to emit 7000K resembles an artificial blue sky:
Sunlight always has infrared present, and its color temperature changes throughout the day. Incandescent lights also always have infrared present, and have a color temperature that is considered “warm.” LEDs have neither of these properties.
2. Temporal properties
If you were alive in the 80s, you may remember when televisions had a flicker around 50 Hz (cycles per second), which we could all see with our naked eye.
The LEDs of phones, smart TVs, and streetlights emit a flicker that is faster than what our brains can even perceive, so we don’t notice it. This is called the flicker fusion threshold – when our eyes can no longer distinguish between individual flickers. As a result, the flashes appear to fuse into a steady, continuous source of light.2 Our brains stop dancing under the strobe lights of Saturday Night Fever, and instead just get a fever. Why does this happen?
The electricity used by an incandescent bulb produces a smoother sine wave, which is more akin to the rhythms of our brain. LEDs emit a square wave, which can contribute to neurological effects such as seizures3 due to the increased flicker rate.
Dimmer switches in our home not only increase flicker, but they also can contribute to ramping up kilohertz frequencies that contribute to electromagnetic interference (EMI)4 When we dim incandescents, we lower the amount of electricity going to the bulb. LEDs are in fact not dimmed, but shut on and off rapidly, using pulse-width modulation (PWM). This rapid switching from on (duty cycle) to off contributes to more EMI, or dirty electricity. EMI not only degrades our electronics, it harms the electrical components of our bodies - our brains, hearts, and organs.
3. Spatial properties
Our spherical Sun sends light out uniformly in all directions. The spheres of our eyes know how to absorb light from a curved surface. LEDs emit light from a flat surface with no curvature. This mean light propels from the electronic chip surface in a defined angle which also causes the largest amount of light rays to intersect in the middle of the chip. The least amount of intersection occurs on the edge of the surface, which gives LEDs an energy profile resembling a bullet.
Radiation from LEDs can cause epileptic seizures5, anxiety, anger, panic, migraines, psychological trauma, and thoughts of suicide.6
What happens when we live in a world where Great Balls of Fire for our health have been transfigured into bullets for our brain?
Can LEDs be therapeutic?
There are four main types of light therapy devices on the market:
Photobiomodulation
Circadian Lighting
Full spectrum infrared
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) lighting
Unfortunately, we’ve found that only one resonates with our ethos to First Do No Harm. Most of these devices either run on LEDs, which for the reasons mentioned above may be a long-term detriment to our nervous system. However, let’s dive into some of the basics, so that we can make an informed decision.
A “healthy” LED?
Photobiomodulation (PBM), also known as Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) or LED light therapy, is used to reduce inflammation, speed up wound healing and muscle recovery, and promotes the flow of lymphatic fluid. PBM helps our mitochondria release energy. Red and near-infrared (NIR) light at 660nm and 850nm are considered the most effective wavelengths for creating this physiological reaction. However, these lights are still LED, and have never been found in nature. We don’t receive seperate wavelengths like these from the Sun - our bodies are designed to absorb the full spectrum. I love apple peels, but I still want to chomp on the entire fruit.
Circadian lighting
These devices emit peaks in specific wavelengths, during certain times of the day, that attempt to mimick the Sun. Once again, light from the sky comes to us with a plethora of wavelengths, not those ordered by us like a happy meal of a pop, burger, and “would you like some 487 nanometer with that?”
Some of these devices run on dimmers that can be controlled manually through a wireless (2.45 GHz) connection. While I understand that we can’t all throw out our Wi-Fi overnight, using devices to bolster our health, like Fitbits that track our blood glucose while spiking it, defeats the purpose.
Full spectrum infrared
Other than the beeswax candles Bohdanna and I make, the one type of light therapy we stand behind is incandescent lighting. Yes - light therapy can be as simple as getting a $5 bulb from your hardware store! (while supplies last)
If you feel like firing it up a notch - there’s one company we’ve found that has the best of both worlds - full spectrum, near infrared light produced from the curved surface of an incandescent bulb. Based in the US, Sauna Space has created FireLight® technology - proprietary incandescent sauna bulbs, which combine tungsten filaments and red-stained hard quartz glass to produce a full-spectrum infrared light that mimics the best of nature. As some of you may know, infrared saunas tend to emit high levels of EMF radiation. SaunaSpace has created a sauna with very low-EMF. Another silver lining: their saunas can also be purchased with an EMF-eliminating faraday cage, thus fully optimizing the body’s ability to detoxify. Out of all the types of light we get from the sun, about 41% spectrally is near infrared. This is why our body craves this type of light source more easily compared to other sources like green or blue found in LEDs.
Don’t worry - be SAD
Some of our readers have asked us recently if SAD (seasonal affective disorder) therapy lamps are a good idea during the winter. While some may experience temporary relief using these devices, I would argue that these are a quick fix that may have lasting negative consequences. Like a band-aid that’s left on the skin too long - relying on a lamp as a substitute for the stars can lead to scars.
Our nervous and immune system runs on the circadian rhythms of nature, first and foremost. When we try to biohack our way through life with another guru’s machete, we could wind up cutting down more than we can chew. When doing a search for “the best light therapy lamp”, many options offered emit a brightness that is not in line with the Sunrise. However, there are many who use SAD lamps first thing in the morning at 10,000 lux (lux being the amount of light striking a surface). Morning Sunlight tends to emit at approximately 400 lux. What happens to our biology when we start plugging into an artificial light that’s too powerful for the wall sockets of our brain this early in the morning?
Many more SAD lamp manufacturers bathe us in blue light, which we are already drowning in. Furthermore, infrared and UV are often taken out.
If UV is present in any light therapy device, one should also have infrared, as this helps our bodies repair the acute, beneficial stress of UV light. Although it’s a stressor, UV also has many potent health benefits.78
Years ago, Bohdanna and I would not venture outdoors when it was cloudy. Ever since we learned that the longer, restorative wavelengths of red and infrared can penetrate our atmosphere at this time, we began to go outside no matter the season. We’ve also noticed that the best chance to see any visible Sun on an overcast day is at Sunrise or set, when it’s in line with our horizon. Even the gloomiest, most overcast winter’s day is at least ten times brighter than the typical office!
In last week’s article on beating the winter blues, we discussed how Scandinavians approach the darker months with a positive mindset, along with a balanced approach of embracing the darker months. They get outside, eat less, and sleep more. Could it be that depression is just a natural phenomenon, that we’ve since been taught to disdain at the expense of another’s profit motive? After all - laborers can always sleep when they’re dead - as long as they can be replaced with more of the half-dead, working for a dying.
Nature has built the equation of rest for us - our bodies just need to follow the formula. The darker the night, the brighter our light.
Will you have the courage to brave the gloom, and pierce horizon’s loom with an illuminance only God can see?
We are more powerful than we know,
Roman & Bohdanna
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Additional Resources:
An amazing Reddit group we recently joined, called “fuck your headlights” - they have 36,000 members. We’re not alone.
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/lighting/lighting_flicker.html
http://www.softlights.org/what-are-the-harms-of-leds/
Fisher, R.S., Archarya, J.N., Baumer, F.M., French, J.A., Parisi, P., Solodar, J.H., Szaflarski, J.P., Thio, L.L., Tolchin, B., Wilkins, A.J., & Kasteleijn-Nolst Trenité, D. (2022). Visually sensitive seizures: An updated review by the Epilepsy Foundation. Epilepsia, 63:739-768. DOI: 10.1111/epi.17175.)
http://www.softlights.org/what-are-the-harms-of-leds/
We are not licensed medical professionals, and this is not medical advice. Everything we state herein is our opinion, and based off our own experience.
Dr. Mercola has made this comparison.
LED = digital light.
Incandescent = analog light.
About the Photobiomodulation (PBM) red and near-infrared LED lights claimed to improve mitochondrial function, etc: I doubt the discreet wavelengths 660nm and 850nm are actually the most effective wavelengths. I think it more likely that a more continuous red spectrum provided by an incandescent red-NIR lamp would have at least as good an effect. But of course it would be easier to study a few separate red wavelengths, especially if the plan was to eventually market LED devices to deploy this light technology.
I use a TheraBulb 150 watt NIR-A bulb in my living space in the evenings and also during daytime in the winter. I have it sort of nearby when i am sitting at my computer monitor or in the kitchen/living room. The wavelengths range from 700 to 1000 nm, with the peak at 750. It also warms up the place. I turn it off periodically since i wonder how much of it is too much. In the winter i use it mainly to try to balance out the primarily blue light coming through the dark "low E" windows and sometimes other normal incandescent lights and the computer monitor (which has the blue mitigated to some degree.