Light Levels & Cognition

Scientists wanted to understand the impact of light on human cognition. 

Researchers had 26 healthy young adults (16 women, average age 24 years) complete 2 auditory tasks: comparing two tones (an executive task) and identifying speaker gender that was either neutral or angry (emotional task).  Participants did the tasks while being scanned by a high resolution 7 Tesla fMRI machine in 5 different conditions: total darkness and 4 conditions of increasing illumination.

Researchers found that higher light levels improved cognitive performance on the executive task.  They theorize that using higher levels of light in work and study environments will reduce fatigue and improve cognitive deficits, without negatively impacting sleep.

Takeaway:  To improve cognition without impairing your capacity to get a good night’s sleep, enhance the lighting in your work or study area.

Well-being is a journey, not a quick fix.

The Legal Brain: A Lawyer’s Guide to Well-being and Better Job Performance is available for pre-order on Amazon and Cambridge University Press (AUSTIN24 at checkout for 20% discount from Cambridge) and will be published on May 9.

Source

Islay Campbell, et al., Regional Response to Light Illumination Across the Human Hypthalamus, eLife, Apr 23, 2024, Regional response to light illuminance across the human hypothalamus (elifesciences.org).

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