Optimized office lighting advances melatonin phase and peripheral heat loss prior bedtime

Abstract

Improving indoor lighting conditions at the workplace has the potential to support proper circadian entrainment of hormonal rhythms, sleep, and well-being. We tested the effects of optimized dynamic daylight and electric lighting on circadian phase of melatonin, cortisol and skin temperatures in office workers. We equipped one office room with an automated controller for blinds and electric lighting, optimized for dynamic lighting (=  Test room), and a second room without any automated control (=  Reference room). Young healthy participants (n = 34) spent five consecutive workdays in each room, where individual light exposure data, skin temperatures and saliva samples for melatonin and cortisol assessments were collected. Vertical illuminance in the Test room was 1177 ± 562 photopic lux (mean  ± SD) , which was 320 lux higher than in the Reference room ( p < 0.01). Melanopic equivalent daylight (D65) illuminance was 931 ± 484 melanopic lux in the Test room and 730 ± 390 melanopic lux in the Reference room ( p < 0.01). Individual light exposures resulted in a 50 min earlier time of half-maximum accumulated illuminance in the Test than the Reference room ( p < 0.05). The melatonin secretion onset and peripheral heat loss in the evening occurred significantly earlier with respect to habitual sleeptime in the Test compared to the Reference room ( p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that optimized dynamic workplace lighting has the potential to promote earlier melatonin onset and peripheral heat loss prior bedtime, which may be beneficial for persons with a delayed circadian timing system.