A higher illuminance induces alertness even during office hours: Findings on subjective measures, task performance and heart rate measures

Smolders, Kchj Karin; Kort, de Yaw Yvonne; Cluitmans, Pjm Pierre

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.04.028

Cited by 260 publications

(276 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

234

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In line with previous studies, subjective alerting and vitalizing effects were expected under high compared to low illuminance levels, and brighter compared to dimmer light conditions were expected to be rated as brighter, more stimulating, and less pleasant [11,16,21].…”

supporting

confidence: 85%

“…dim light exposure (200 lux at eye level) during performance on an auditory Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). In contrast, Smolders et al [21] did report increases in heart rate under daytime bright (1000 lux at eye level) vs. dim light exposure (200 lux at eye level)…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Previous studies investigating NIF effects of light on physiology have already demonstrated that high compared to low illuminance levels increase autonomic nervous activity as measured by heart rate, heart rate variability, skin conductance levels and muscle sympathetic nerve activity [17,[19][20][21][22]. Moreover, studies also revealed changes in brainrelated indicators of arousal and alertness under bright versus dim light exposure, for example increases in hemodynamic activity in the Locus Coeruleus [6] and changes in electroencephalographic (EEG ) theta and alpha power density [23][24][25].…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, studies also revealed changes in brainrelated indicators of arousal and alertness under bright versus dim light exposure, for example increases in hemodynamic activity in the Locus Coeruleus [6] and changes in electroencephalographic (EEG ) theta and alpha power density [23][24][25]. In these studies, physiological arousal levels were either measured during cognitive task performance [6,17,21,22] or in rest (sitting or lying down) with eyes open or closed [19,20,[23][24][25].…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More specifically, the aim of the current study was to explore whether previously found increases in physiological arousal levels under bright vs. dim light exposure [19][20][21] vary with task difficulty and could explain light-induced changes in task performance. Therefore, physiology was continuously measured during performance on a relatively easy sustainedattention task and on a working-memory task consisting of easy and difficult trials.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Non-image forming effects of illuminance level: Exploring parallel effects on physiological arousal and task performance

Huiberts

Smolders

Kort

2016

Physiology & Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated diurnal non-image forming (NIF) effects of illuminance level on physiological arousal in parallel to NIF effects on vigilance and working memory performance. We employed a counterbalanced within-subjects design in which thirty-nine participants (mean age = 21.2; SD = 2.1; 11 male) completed three 90-minute sessions (165 vs. 600 lux vs. 1700 lux at eye level) either in the morning (N=18) or afternoon (N=21).During each session, participants completed four measurement blocks (incl. one baseline block) each consisting of a 10-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) and a Backwards Digit-Span Task (BDST) including easy trials (4-6 digits) and difficult trials (7-8 digits).Heart rate (HR), skin conductance level (SCL) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured continuously.The results revealed a significant improvement on the BDST difficult trials under 1700 lux vs. 165 lux (p = 0.01), while illuminance level did not affect performance on the PVT and BDST easy trials. Illuminance level impacted HR and SCL, but not SBP. In the afternoon sessions, HR was significantly higher under 1700 lux vs. 165 lux during PVT performance (p = 0.05), while during BDST performance, HR was only slightly higher under 600 vs. 165 lux (p = 0.06). SCL was significantly higher under 1700 lux vs. 165 lux during performance on BDST easy trials (p = 0.02) and showed similar, but nonsignificant trends during the PVT and BDST difficult trials. Although both physiology and performance were affected by illuminance level, no consistent pattern emerged with respect to parallel changes in physiology and performance. Rather, physiology and performance seem to be affected independently, via unique pathways.

show abstract

supporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Non-image forming effects of illuminance level: Exploring parallel effects on physiological arousal and task performance

Huiberts

Smolders

Kort

2016

Physiology & Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

HCL ‐Oriented Lighting Design: Basic Aspects and Implementation

2023

Human Centric Integrative Lighting

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Orexin (hypocretin) mediates light‐dependent fluctuation of hippocampal function in a diurnal rodent

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental lighting conditions play a central role in cognitive function, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Utilizing a diurnal rodent model, the Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), we previously found that daytime light intensity affects hippocampal function in this species in a manner similar to its effects in humans. Compared to animals housed in a 12:12 h bright light–dark (brLD) cycle, grass rats kept in a 12:12 h dim light–dark (dimLD) cycle showed impaired spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) and reduced CA1 apical dendritic spine density. The present study explored the neural substrates mediating the effects of daylight intensity on hippocampal function focusing on the hypothalamic orexin (hypocretin) system. First, animals housed in dimLD were treated with daily intranasal administration of orexin A peptide over five training days of the MWM task. Compared to vehicle controls, this treatment led to superior spatial memory accompanied by increased phosphorylation of Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II α and glutamate receptor 1 within the CA1. To assess the role of hippocampal orexinergic signaling, an adeno‐associated viral vector (AAV) expressing an orexin receptor 1 (OX1R) shRNA was injected into the dorsal hippocampus targeting the CA1 of animals housed in brLD. AAV‐mediated knockdown of OX1R within the hippocampus resulted in deficits in MWM performance and reduced CA1 apical dendritic spine density. These results are consistent with the view that the hypothalamic orexinergic system underlies the modulatory role of daytime illumination on hippocampal function in diurnal mammals.

show abstract

A higher illuminance induces alertness even during office hours: Findings on subjective measures, task performance and heart rate measures

Cited by 260 publications

References 48 publications

Non-image forming effects of illuminance level: Exploring parallel effects on physiological arousal and task performance

Non-image forming effects of illuminance level: Exploring parallel effects on physiological arousal and task performance

HCL ‐Oriented Lighting Design: Basic Aspects and Implementation

Orexin (hypocretin) mediates light‐dependent fluctuation of hippocampal function in a diurnal rodent

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About