Dataset Information

Light correlated color temperature and task switching performance in preschool-age children: Preliminary insights.

ABSTRACT: Data from a growing number of experimental studies show that exposure to higher correlated color temperature (CCT) ambient light, containing more blue light, can positively impact alertness and cognitive performance in older children and adults. To date, few if any studies have examined whether light exposure influences cognitive task performance in preschool-age children, who are in the midst of rapid developmental changes in attention and executive function skills. In this study, healthy children aged 4.5-5.5 years (n = 20; 11 females) completed measures of sustained attention and task switching twice while being exposed to LED light set to either 3500K (a lower CCT) or 5000K (a higher CCT). A control group (n = 18; 10 females) completed the tasks twice under only the 3500K lighting condition. Although the lighting condition did not impact performance on the sustained attention task, exposure to the higher CCT light lead to greater improvement in preschool-age children's task switching performance (F(1,36) = 4.41, p = 0.04). Children in the control group showed a 6.5% increase in task switching accuracy between time points, whereas those in the experimental group improved by 15.2%. Our primary finding-that exposure to light at a higher correlated color temperature leads to greater improvement in task switching performance-indicates that the relationship between the spectral power distribution of light and executive function abilities is present early in cognitive development. These data have implications for designing learning environments and suggest that light may be an important contextual factor in the lives of young children in both the home and the classroom.

SUBMITTER: Hartstein LE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6117001 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Light correlated color temperature and task switching performance in preschool-age children: Preliminary insights.

Hartstein Lauren E LE LeBourgeois Monique K MK Berthier Neil E NE

PloS one 20180830 8

Data from a growing number of experimental studies show that exposure to higher correlated color temperature (CCT) ambient light, containing more blue light, can positively impact alertness and cognitive performance in older children and adults. To date, few if any studies have examined whether light exposure influences cognitive task performance in preschool-age children, who are in the midst of rapid developmental changes in attention and executive function skills. In this study, healthy child ...[more]

PMID: 30161180

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Project description:An appropriate exposure to the light-dark cycle, with high irradiances during the day and darkness during the night is essential to keep our physiology on time. However, considering the increasing exposure to artificial light at night and its potential harmful effects on health (i.e. chronodisruption and associated health conditions), it is essential to understand the non-visual effects of light in humans. Melatonin suppression is considered the gold standard for nocturnal light effects, and the activation of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) through the assessment of pupillary light reflex (PLR) has been recently gaining attention. Also, some theoretical models for melatonin suppression and retinal photoreceptors activation have been proposed. Our aim in this study was to determine the influence of correlated color temperature (CCT) on melatonin suppression and PLR, considering two commercial light sources, as well as to explore the possible correlation between both processes. Also, the contribution of irradiance (associated to CCT) was explored through mathematical modelling on a wider range of light sources. For that, melatonin suppression and PLR were experimentally assessed on 16 healthy and young volunteers under two light conditions (warmer, CCT 3000 K; and cooler, CCT 5700 K, at ~5·1018 photons/cm2/sec). Our experimental results yielded greater post-stimulus constriction under the cooler (5700 K, 13.3 ± 1.9%) than under the warmer light (3000 K, 8.7 ± 1.2%) (p < 0.01), although no significant differences were found between both conditions in terms of melatonin suppression. Interestingly, we failed to demonstrate correlation between PLR and melatonin suppression. Although methodological limitations cannot be discarded, this could be due to the existence of different subpopulations of Type 1 ipRGCs differentially contributing to PLR and melatonin suppression, which opens the way for further research on ipRGCs projection in humans. The application of theoretical modelling suggested that CCT should not be considered separately from irradiance when designing nocturnal/diurnal illumination systems. Further experimental studies on wider ranges of CCTs and light intensities are needed to confirm these conclusions.

Project description:BackgroundBlue-enriched white light at night has the potential to delay the circadian rhythm in daily life. This study was conducted to determine whether the use of high correlated color temperature (CCT) light at home at night is associated with delay of sleep timing in university students.MethodsThe survey was conducted in 2014-2015 in 447 university students in Japan and 327 students in China. Habitual sleep timing and type of CCT light at home were investigated by using a self-administered questionnaire. The Japanese students were significantly later than the Chinese students in bedtime, wake time, and midpoint of sleep. They were asked whether the lighting in the room where they spend most of their time at night was closer to warm color (low CCT) or daylight color (high CCT). The amount of light exposure level during daily life was measured for at least 1 week by the use of a light sensor in 60 students in each country.ResultsThe percentages of participants who used high CCT lighting at night were 61.6% for Japanese students and 80.8% for Chinese students. Bedtime and sleep onset time on school days and free days were significantly later in the high CCT group than in the low CCT group in Japan. The midpoint of sleep in the high CCT group was significantly later than that in the low CCT group on free days but not on school days. On the other hand, none of the sleep measurements on school days and free days were significantly different between the high CCT and low CCT groups in China. Illuminance level of light exposure during the night was significantly higher in Japanese than in Chinese, but that in the morning was significantly higher in China than in Japan.ConclusionsThe use of high CCT light at night is associated with delay of sleep timing in Japanese university students but not in Chinese university students. The effects of light at night on sleep timing and circadian rhythm may be complicated by other lifestyle factors depending on the country.

Dataset Information

Light correlated color temperature and task switching performance in preschool-age children: Preliminary insights.

Publications

Light correlated color temperature and task switching performance in preschool-age children: Preliminary insights.

Similar Datasets

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