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Blue Lights To Reset Internal Clocks
holy_calamity writes "Researchers at RPI are testing the effects of putting blue LEDs inside cars to keep drivers alert. People driving through the night are much more likely to cause accidents because our circadian rhythms just want to sleep — blue light at around 450nm wavelength can fool them into thinking it's morning and keep them awake."
.. there really is justification for people pimpin' their rides????
I'm rarely awake before 2pm, you insensitive clod!
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Yes, I know there are times that we've all had to drive with less sleep than we should have... but is this a good answer?
To me it would seem to inspire false confidence on the part of the driver, where they might think that they could stay up and not have to worry about falling asleep driving since they had their blue lights blinking or whatever.
I'm thinking that the real solution is making people in the public more aware of the dangers of driving with too little sleep. Everyone knows they shouldn't drink and drive (yet many still do) but not enough people realize how dangerous driving when tired is.
Most of all, i hope they don't put these in 18-wheelers are another way to squeeze yet more driving time out of the guys.
Tibbon
tibbon.com
Interesting. VW uses this wavelength for its gauge lighting in most of its cars. I always thought it was for looks (as the red/blue combo does look pretty good). Perhaps the blue was chosen to help enhance nighttime alertness as well.
i am a soviet space shuttle
Q: How many New Yorkers does it take to screw in a "blue" light bulb?
A: None 'o yo' fuckin' business!
Q: How many software people does it take to screw in a "blue" light bulb?
A: None. That's a hardware problem.
Q: How many televangelists does it take to screw in a "blue" light bulb?
A: None. Televangelists screw in motels.
Q: How many straight San Franciscans does it take to screw in a "blue" light bulb?
A: Both of them.
Considering that vastly less people are on the road at night, it's disproportionate.
How soon until they can put this in textbooks? Now that would be handy...
I find a flashing blue light in the rear view mirror certainly wakes me up.
Seriously though, it would be better to just not drive when tired. Also wouldn't screwing around with your internal body clock mess you up more?
I'm not going to discount the possible correlation between certain wavelengths and sensing it's daylight. But it sounds problematic to me. One blue LED has amazing illumination power, so not only will it likely affect your night vision but it will illuminate all the flaws in your windscreen, as well as enhance the reflection of your self.
Those of us unfortunate enough to buy hardware with blue leds on it can share this fact, it's damned annoying.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
How many Slashdotters does it take to change a light bulb?
Blue lights are more likely to wake you up not because you think it's morning, but because you think the police are chasing you. One time I was driving, and for some reason was paranoid that there was a cop around the corner and I came across a house covered with blue Christmas lights. That woke me up.
Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
Same here, red lights dont keep me awake, neither do blue lights on their own. However I've always found that turning on a flashing red and blue light behind me will instantly make me awake and fully alert,no matter what. The effect is amazing :)
The only problem is that blue light ruins your night vision, which would conceivably cause more accidents.
Speaking of sleeping and car jokes, this old chestnut comes to mind.
When I die, I want to go peacefully, in my sleep, like my grandfather.
Not screaming in terror like his passengers.
Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
Blue wavelengths also have the nasty side effect of destroying night vision almost instantly, fooling the pupils to contract - likely for the very same reason it fools the rest of the body into thinking its daylight too.
Not a desirable or safe side effect when making something specifically intended to be used for driving in the dark. It's why the military uses red lights in their vehicle cabins and cockpits.
Yes we are. Some of us don't think clearly until after the sun has been down a few hours. Some of us have been that way since we were six despite the fact that we were raised by dads who kept us on a military time clock--and it didn't make one damn bit of difference, because we could invert the clock in one day by staying up until morning.
I have a theory: morning people have a 22 hour internal clock. I have a 28 hour internal clock. When I was a kid, I used to think it was "insomnia", but its not, because insomnia means that you can't sleep. I can sleep just dandy--about 20 hours after I get up. If I get six full hours, I'm wired like a jack russell terrier for a long long time. So I have to live about 6 days out of the week dead tired (4-5 hours of sleep) so that I have any hope of getting those 4 or 5 hours. One day of 6-7 and I need to be up 20 hours to compensate. My clock gets advanced two or three hours sleeping (god forbid) 8, and I spend the week working it back. Friends, this is not fun. Its also not choice, because if I could trade my 28 hour clock for a 22 hour clock (like my wife has) I would in a heartbeat. I'd use those other 2 hours for sleep. 10 hours of sleep per day--that would rule.
If you study sleep--dig yourself into that theory above. You have some big papers coming your way, I guarantee you.
Only when I got to be an adult did I realize that morning people aren't "faking it". Get this: they are really rather happy its morning! All that "good morning" stuff--its sincere to them. And you have to lie and say "good morning" right back to them or they won't understand you.
Also, when I used to drive 17 hours straight (which I've done more than a few times) I couldn't wait for it to turn night so it wouldn't be so hard to stay up. Dylight is hell when a true night person wants to stay awake. If a blue light simulates that and intrudes on my precious darkness, I don't want any part of it.
Just callin' it like I see it.
Brilliant! Quite an illuminating journal entry you have there. Thanks for shedding some light on it!
I, for one, am looking forward to the inevitable
When I travel by plane, I never get any sleep. Kids yelling, flight attendants interrupting me.
But, when I'm driving myself, I can fall asleep no problem. Get some of my best shuteye when I'm behind the wheel.......
== First cross river, then insult alligator.
To me blue lights say, "Attention K-mart shoppers!"
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Mussolini
This changes w/age. People in their fifties have usually an internal clock of some 24 hrs. Some can have even 30 hours or more at their twenties. Old people can have internal clocks of 19-20 hrs, which is why they tend to get tired early in the evening and then start waking up in the very early morning hours.
Some of us don't think clearly until after the sun has been down a few hours. Some of us have been that way since we were six despite the fact that we were raised by dads who kept us on a military time clock--and it didn't make one damn bit of difference, because we could invert the clock in one day by staying up until morning.In my case I don't think it's really about my internal clock, as you could really time your clock by me when I was a baby, regarding both sleeping and eating. My folks made me get up at 07:00 every morning in the week for the 17 years I lived w/them. Now I'm soon 34, and I have a day off from work, and I woke up at 13:48. Any why ?
Because it was supposedly so important to watch a few more videos from Beyond Belief 2.0. I went to bed at 05:30 (am), just because I was so darn stubborn to keep on watching the videos about a subject that I found highly interesting. I actually played solitaire for the last few hours just to keep myself active so that I don't get too sleepy.
My theory is that at least some of the so-called night people are just like me: They're too intensive, too driven and too interested in things to let go of the day - it's like every day you go to bed it's a little death. And don't get me wrong, it's wonderful to get there when you're really tired, but the thing is that I still don't want to go to bed at night. I can say that to me going to bed feels like a punishment every and each day, and I drag it off for as long as I just can. If I didn't do this, I'd probably be more effective many days, because I would've slept as much as I really needed, had I gone to bed in good time.
I have a friend who has an intensively driven personality just like me, and he tends to do just the same things - stay awake just for the sake of it, like I guess we did when we were children. It was just so much fun to be able to stay up after your bedtime. Maybe this is in part is an effect of how we're brought up. Some Freudian would surely conclude that I want to stay up every night just to defy my parents who always put me to bed when I was a child.
Only when I got to be an adult did I realize that morning people aren't "faking it". Get this: they are really rather happy its morning! All that "good morning" stuff--its sincere to them. And you have to lie and say "good morning" right back to them or they won't understand you. Well, if I wasn't always tired in the morning w/having to get to work, maybe I'd feel better about mornings, too. As it is, I pay the price for not going to bed in time especially in the mornings.The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne