Artificial light issue - suggestions?

We are being greenwashed. LEDs aren't just depleting Rare Earth at an alarming rate, but for a good amount of us, they are absolute Sensory Torture. The human eye is supposed to be sensitive to light: too much and the wrong balance is supposed to create a sense of danger through stress and anxiety. The body will manifest unresolved stress from sensory assault even if one’s psychology is filtering it out.  

LEDs are also being sold for their Brilliance as a brighter source of light than filament sources. But the Eyes needs a Full balanced Spectrum of Colour including Near InfraRed to see with Contrast. Our photoreceptors borrow from Infrared to see with better clarity at night[i]. LEDs do not emit Infrared and modern light pollution interferes with natural sources of infrared radiation in the night sky emitted by stars and planets.

Reducing light pollution isn’t just crucial for eye sight but also Scientific Research which relies on infrared Radiation: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/light-pollution-is-dimming-our-view-of-the-sky-and-its-getting-worse/

[i] The human eye needs Infrared Light

This is largely under-researched. But understanding how the eyes perceive brilliance and clarity with cones and rods can understand our need for NIR and IR by understanding colour blindness and night vision technology.

 There are forums with Colourblind individuals experiencing a better ability to see in the dark https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/107208/do-color-blind-people-have-more-rod-cells-in-their-retinae-than-the-normally-sig

Currently, the theory is loosely based on their reliance of Rods, accessing a wider range of the spectrum than cones https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2122885

 We can see a wider spectrum than is thought: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150727-what-are-the-limits-of-human-vision

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6815255/ “Although the practical visible light range for human vision is considered to be 400 to 720 nm, numerous reports exist of perception in the near infrared. Thus, it is now accepted that, given a sufficiently powerful source of IR light, humans can respond to radiation at wavelengths as long as 1355 nm”

There's a lack of study in to Infrared, but now blue lights are contributing to an impending ecological disaster, I hope we'll see more. The Rods in our eyes borrow from IR to see with clarity. Our cones use UV to see with brilliance. Our Rods take over at night, part of a human cycle. They respond slower but deeper to light and are the cause of flash blindness.

Here is some further research out of interest: 

LEDs are also being sold for their Brilliance as a brighter source of light than filament sources. But the Eyes needs a Full balanced Spectrum of Colour including Near InfraRed to see with Contrast. Our photoreceptors borrow from Infrared to see with better clarity at night[i]. LEDs do not emit Infrared and modern light pollution interferes with natural sources of infrared radiation in the night sky emitted by stars and planets.

Reducing light pollution isn’t just crucial for eye sight but also Scientific Research which relies on infrared Radiation: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/light-pollution-is-dimming-our-view-of-the-sky-and-its-getting-worse/

[i] The human eye needs Infrared Light

This is largely under-researched. But understanding how the eyes perceive brilliance and clarity with cones and rods can understand our need for NIR and IR by understanding colour blindness and night vision technology.

 There are forums with Colourblind individuals experiencing a better ability to see in the dark https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/107208/do-color-blind-people-have-more-rod-cells-in-their-retinae-than-the-normally-sig

Currently, the theory is loosely based on their reliance of Rods, accessing a wider range of the spectrum than cones https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2122885

We can see a wider spectrum than is thought: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150727-what-are-the-limits-of-human-vision

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6815255/ “Although the practical visible light range for human vision is considered to be 400 to 720 nm, numerous reports exist of perception in the near infrared. Thus, it is now accepted that, given a sufficiently powerful source of IR light, humans can respond to radiation at wavelengths as long as 1355 nm”

 The increase on human and ecological health is becoming increasingly prevalent. This toxic effect of “the transition to LEDs in the UK “poorly considered” the ecological and human costs of such a policy” was found in this article in 2022 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/14/increase-in-led-lighting-risks-harming-human-and-animal-health 

I had just posted a rather long response and it's mysteriously gone! Have a look at this link.

https://lightaware.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/LightAware-response-to-new-ecodesign-requirements-for-lighting-products-consultation.pdf

Summarising my suggestions:

1. Bring a halogen desk lamp to break up flicker and fill in the spectrum. They're not illegal for those of us with light sensitivity.

2. find polarised and / or rose tinted glasses but they won't fill in the spectrum.

3. do your research and create a case to be moved to a location with a window - natural light source or ask to work several hours in an area exposed to natural light. 

4. have a good mix of halogen / LED at home. Halogen can be made energy efficient, it just hasn't due to what's call Planned Obsolescence. For every one halogen bulb, you'll need to turn on a great deal of LEDs, but we cannot see well due to the lack of spectrum, especially the lack of infrared.

https://lightaware.org/ 

Many thanks.  I have not noticed an issue with my home lighting, butbi guess all those lights are relatively dim.

I am investigating tinted glasses.  

I am a BIG advocate of natural lighting with lightaware.org & talked about it on this thread. But continue to research.

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/health-and-wellbeing/23829/leds-legally-enforced-exemption-card-available-for-highly-sensitive-people

Their recent blog is something I had contributed to: https://lightaware.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/LightAware-response-to-new-ecodesign-requirements-for-lighting-products-consultation.pdf

To find the solution it can be helpful to understand these problems: 

Blue lights aren't just affecting our circadian rhythm, which in turn stresses the human body, but are quickly contributing to ecological disaster. Animals are off-time. And many, like humans need infrared light, which is further getting blocked out by artificial light. This affects our ability to see into space and to see with distance and clarity. 

Further, it's the equivalent of listening to music with no bass & frequencies around 300, 1k laser focused, with a sweep up exposing all the highs (hats, cymbals) - it would be piercing to listen to daily, these are used for 'crowd control' by police and yet we're being Absolutely Greenwashed into believing we're saving the environment when the impact is actually worse! They deplete rare earth and unlike halogen aren't easy to recycle. The only reason filament bulbs were made to not last was due to 6 major lighting companies signing agreements on what's called "Planned Obsolescence". It tuns out, energy is renewable and Bell Electric made an energy efficient halogen in 2010 they've since discontinued. 

One fix to deal with flicker and lack of a full spectrum is to bring a desk lamp with a halogen. If you look on lightaware's site, it will give you the legal structure set in place for those of us with light sensitivity. It is not illegal to have natural light. It's just not well known. 

Glasses can help. Rose tint and/or polarised lenses, but they cannot produce light to fill the spectrum where it doesn't exist. 

Third option is to ground yourself in the knowledge above and create a case to be moved to a location where there is natural light - near a window. You could also request to sit outdoors with a company laptop if this works. 

Last, I'd make sure you have halogens at home. If you cannot make adjustments to work make your home a place that relieves the day. I have a mix. LEDs are fine in rock lamps which break up their limited spectrum. I have a few night lamps that are properly diffused. But my kitchen is a mix and then I have floor lamps with halogen. The secret is - with a full spectrum, you don't need to have every LED in the house on, one or two lights will do!

Thats another idea .. i guess what i need to do is identify what specifically is causing the issue. Flicker, specific colours or simply brightness.

I dont think it is the latter, as bright daylight doesnt affect me in the same way.

If it is flicker ... i dont know how i would fix that.

Could you get some glasses with transition lenses that will darken when you're under bright lighting?

I worked at SpecSavers and recommended this for a lot of autistic people and people who suffered from light sensitivity. I've got the same for myself.

Sunglasses can be a lifesaver and reduce the chance of an overload and meltdown. I wear mine always when I'm out and sometimes at home if needed.

Work is horrible because the lights are bright (typical hospital lighting), and the walls are white and so many shiny surfaces.

Thanks. I jave some coloured sheets on the way.  I have also found a local place that does the testing.

Thanks, i have ordered some kf the coloured sheets to experiment with. Hopefully i will findca good colour.

It's definitely worth trying the blue light filtering glasses in the meantime, could be an easy and quick solution. If that doesn't work for you then look for an optician that specialises in Meares-Irlen syndrome and does a clinical eye tracker assessment. And like SuffolkAutistic and Dawn said ask for an Occupational Health assessment if you want.  

If Irlen's is a problem, tints might help. The tint is different for everyone and a qualified optometrist could diagnose and prescribe tints.

If you don't have Irlen's and just are very sensitive to the work lighting, can you talk to OH as to how to mitigate. Some shading, or different lighting around your desk/ work station?

i was statemented in school and yes, i am dyslexic.

So as long as you don't mind looking a bit silly until they get bored of making Blues Brothers comments, it's an effective enough way to get by. Just!

I wear sunglasses at my desk now, been doing it for about three years. Not all day as the feeling of wearing them gets unpleasant, but in short runs of twenty minutes it helps dial down one sensory overstimulus in the room. My colleagues are good about turning the overheads off if I ask, but even then the daylight and white walls combo....

Have you tried blue light filtering glasses? My son finds that they help. Years ago I took him to an optician that specialised in Irlens coloured lenses and overlays and they recommended he use grey tinted lenses and overlays. He wouldn't wear glasses back then but he did try the overlays for reading and it helped. You could try a cheap pair of blue light filtering glasses (easy to find on Amazon). I get really disoriented by florescent lights. I can see them flickering all the time and it makes me feel nauseous. At home I like a warm white bulb. I find the really blue white light affects me. What kind of light bulb is it at work?  The only other suggestions I have is if you're working at a desk ask if you can move to be near a window with natural light, or ask if they can change the light bulb where you are.  

Have you been tested for dyslexia or Meares-Irlen syndrome? If you want to find an optician that specialises search for Meares-Irlen opticians on the internet, or visual stress clinic. 

Ok, thanks.  I am ok looking at the screen .. it is the bright white ceiling lights ... i get weird headaches. I cant focus and on one occasion i left work early, got home and slept for something like 13 hours straight. .. i never do that.

I dont know what the light does to me, but it isnt good.

I am usually able to sit in an area with the lights off, but not always.

I cant work outbif itbis the brightsness, maybe the colour or flicker ... i have no idea.

Referral to Occupational Health. Yes tinted lenses are often useful for those looking at screens all day, not sure about artificial lights though. I find I have to spend some time out in natural light at least every 90 minutes, otherwise I feel like I get migraine-type symptoms. But I would strongly suggest a referral to Occupational Health as there is something in your workplace making you feel unwell, this is their kind of specialty.