stressucks
Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2013
- Messages
- 209
Wouldn't red light be better before bed than white light?
Avoiding blue light/bright light = sleep?
Avoiding blue light/bright light = sleep?
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Click Here if you want to upgrade your account
If you were able to post but cannot do so now, send an email to admin at raypeatforum dot com and include your username and we will fix that right up for you.
It would seem that way.stressucks said:Wouldn't red light be better before bed than white light?
Avoiding blue light/bright light = sleep?
Hi all,
This topics has been discussed many times, without any definite resolution. Hopefully, I will be able to add something to it (not the confusion:) though). So, the confusion stems from the fact that Ray Peat recommends a heat lamp designed for 130V network but run at 120V. In his opinion this would reduce the amount of near-infrared and shift the light towards the desirable red spectrum. However, forum embers have consulted with a person who seems to be an expert on lights and spectrums and he seems to think that "downgrading" a bulb like that would do the exact opposite - i.e. produce more infrared and less visible red light. Also, this person stated that if a bulb is downgraded like that it would produce almost no visible light. Finally, someone on the forum suggested an experiment where two bulbs of the exact same brand/model and wattage but with different voltages (120V and 130V) are tested side by side and differences are investigated. Well, I did such a test and here are my results.
I bought the lightbulbs from the website listed in the Supplements thread. Instead of buying the clear lights I bought the red lights b/c I wanted to also use a spectrometer to measure what kind of light the bulbs will be emitting. I used both lights to heat up a surface for a preset time (15min) keeping the conditions as equal as possible. I have not done the spectrometer analysis yet since I have to buy one first but it seems that even without it some obvious things are emerging.
1. The 120V/250W Red Bulb: When plugged into the normal socket on the wall (residential unit in USA) the 120V emits a light that is for a lack of a better word "orange" in color. The bulb has red colored glass but I think the light produced is intense enough to make it appear orange in color. Also, the 120V bulb emits a lot more heat. I will use the 120V as a base and say that it produced a unit of heat in 15min and I will use that to compare to the 130V bulb.
2. The 130V/250W Red Bulb: When plugged into the outlet, the bulb produced a radiant saturated red color. If a have to compare it to something I would have to say something between cherry-red and burgundy-red. Also, the bulb produces about 40% less heat than the 120V bulb.
I have ordered this relatively cheap open source spectrometry kit and plan on analyzing the light spectrum of all bulbs in the house.
http://www.amazon.com/PublicLab-Desktop ... ectrometer
I strongly encourage others with an interest in doing it to also do their own testing so that we know for sure if the Peat-recommended lights are really optimal, and also what is the spectrum of the common light bulbs of your home. My initial tests suggest that Scott (I think this was the name of the light expert) maybe incorrect in stating that downgraded light bulbs would be worse. In my experience that are much better in terms of producing rich, saturated, red color and producing less heat. Why that doesn't agree with theory and the charts that have been posted is beyond me, but I trust my eyes and how the light affects me.
Finally, for those interested, it may be worth it to order a light meter (also known s Lux meter). Here are some products:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... ight+meter
It's good to know how many Luxes/lumens of light are pouring on top of you. In my case, I have 6 500W incandescent bulbs in the living room but they all point to the walls b/c they are too bright otherwise. So, the Luxes/lumens I am getting are reflected from the wall and most certainly less than the Luxes/lumens listed on the bulb boxes. Even with that setup, everybody sitting in the living room is feeling super relaxed and even sleepy, which does not happen in the darker bedroom and other rooms. I think the optimal exposure that I have seen in studies is at least 5,000 lumens coming at you (not 5,000 produced by the bulb). So, the Lux/lumen meter would help measure that objectively and help you direct efforts (and money) where it matters.
It would seem that way.
Charliem here are the ones I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004DJ5TMS/ref ... 1_ST1_dp_1
If you can find them cheaper, please share with the forum.
I just give up on red light. Learning about this is like getting your PhD in biology in French... when you don't speak French.
Thanks for that. I'll definitely look in this.If you have Ray's book "From PMS to Menopause in Context" there is a very cogent discussion in part 4 which answers many questions. And is simple to understand
@haidut - these bulbs don't appear to be clear incandescent. does that matter?
I don't think you will be able to handle the brightness of 500W clear incandescent bulb. I saw such bulbs lit once in a gallery and I could not stay close to them for long as they were almost blinding. The "clouded" ones work much better for me and probably do not inhibit red light release much.
Thanks. Do you know where I might be able to find 250 W, 130 volt, clear incandescents? If not, thanks for all the great help anyway.
@haidut - I'm sorry to bother you with a question you may have already answered but I can't find the answer above. Are your painted red bulbs considered infrared? Or is there a special 130 volt infrared bulb that you use at your office. (I almost understand all of this:)
All icandescent bulbs will emit some heat, which makes them technically infrared. However, the ones sold officially as infrared use a filament that has much higher resistance and as such converts mos of the electrical energy into heat. So, I use the ones that are NOT sold as infrared. You can buy 150W red colored flood lightbulbs at 130V at most hardware stores. The red bulbs that are also sold as infrared gave me headache after about 10min. I think Peat had the same experience.