Here’s the outline of this episode with Greg Potter: 

[00:02:14] Wellics Corporate Wellness Software.

[00:06:49] The importance of light.

[00:08:30] The introduction of electric light.

[00:09:55] myLuxRecorder (Satchin Panda's app, no longer available); Podcast: How to Use Time-Restricted Eating to Reverse Disease and Optimize Health, with Satchin Panda.

[00:10:37] How light influences the circadian system.

[00:15:34] Consensus paper with recommendations related to light hygiene; Study: Brown, Timothy M., et al. "Recommendations for daytime, evening, and nighttime indoor light exposure to best support physiology, sleep, and wakefulness in healthy adults." PLoS biology 20.3 (2022): e3001571.

[00:19:13] Practical tips for reducing light at night.

[00:22:44] Increasing prevalence of myopia.

[00:23:46] Podcast: Getting Stronger, with Todd Becker.

[00:26:01] Vitamin D synthesis; Podcast: The Pleiotropic Effects of Sunlight, with Megan Hall.

[00:26:15] Effects of light on mood and cognition.

[00:27:24] Effect of light exposure patterns on cognitive performance; Study: Grant, Leilah K., et al. "Daytime exposure to short wavelength-enriched light improves cognitive performance in sleep-restricted college-aged adults." Frontiers in neurology (2021): 197.

[00:28:14] Effects of light on metabolic health.

[00:28:20] Dan Pardi podcast featuring Peter Light: Sunlight And Fat Metabolism: A New Discovery.

[00:28:52] Effect of bright and dim light on metabolism (Netherlands); Study: Harmsen, Jan-Frieder, et al. "The influence of bright and dim light on substrate metabolism, energy expenditure and thermoregulation in insulin-resistant individuals depends on time of day." Diabetologia 65.4 (2022): 721-732.

[00:30:53] Effects of light on skin and immune function.

[00:31:57] Highlights #15 (topics: Sun avoidance & exposure, increasing testosterone, Robert Sapolsky).

[00:35:14] Skyglow.

[00:36:48] Light at night and endocrine disruption.

[00:37:45] Light at night and quality/duration of sleep.

[00:38:19] Blue light in the evening interferes with sleep homeostasis; Study: Cajochen, Christian, et al. "Evidence that homeostatic sleep regulation depends on ambient lighting conditions during wakefulness." Clocks & Sleep 1.4 (2019): 517-531.

[00:38:53] Effects of light at night on sympathetic nervous system/cortisol; Study: Rahman, Shadab A., et al. "Characterizing the temporal dynamics of melatonin and cortisol changes in response to nocturnal light exposure." Scientific reports 9.1 (2019): 1-12.

[00:39:26] Effects of light at night on heart rate, HRV, insulin resistance; Study: Mason, Ivy C., et al. "Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119.12 (2022): e2113290119.

[00:41:34] Effects of moon phases on sleep; Study: Casiraghi, Leandro, et al. "Moonstruck sleep: Synchronization of human sleep with the moon cycle under field conditions." Science advances 7.5 (2021): eabe0465.

[00:45:40] Effects of individual sensitivity to light; Study: Phillips, Andrew JK, et al. "High sensitivity and interindividual variability in the response of the human circadian system to evening light." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116.24 (2019): 12019-12024.

[00:47:55] Camping and melatonin synthesis across seasons; Study: Stothard, Ellen R., et al. "Circadian entrainment to the natural light-dark cycle across seasons and the weekend." Current Biology 27.4 (2017): 508-513.

[00:48:40] Seasonal changes in thyroid hormones (meta-analysis): Kuzmenko, N. V., et al. "Seasonal variations in levels of human thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroid hormones: a meta-analysis." Chronobiology International 38.3 (2021): 301-317.

[00:53:24] Effect of location in the world; Podcast: Morning Larks and Night Owls: the Biology of Chronotypes, with Greg Potter, PhD.

[00:54:30] Daylight Savings Time transition and  traffic accidents in the US; Study: Fritz, Josef, et al. "A chronobiological evaluation of the acute effects of daylight saving time on traffic accident risk." Current biology 30.4 (2020): 729-735.

[00:56:08] Effects of Daylight Savings Time on cardiac events.

[00:56:48] Daylight Savings Time and cyberloafing; Study: Wagner, David T., et al. "Lost sleep and cyberloafing: Evidence from the laboratory and a daylight saving time quasi-experiment." Journal of Applied psychology 97.5 (2012): 1068. 

[00:57:26] Circadian clock disrupted by Daylight Savings Time; Study: Kantermann, Thomas, et al. "The human circadian clock's seasonal adjustment is disrupted by daylight saving time." Current Biology 17.22 (2007): 1996-2000. 

[01:00:44] Implications of permanent daylight savings time.

[01:03:37] Effects of light at night in animals; Study: Sanders, Dirk, et al. "A meta-analysis of biological impacts of artificial light at night." Nature Ecology & Evolution 5.1 (2021): 74-81.

[01:09:14] Minimizing the impact of light at night on wildlife.

[01:13:50] Human-centric lighting at hospitals; Study: Giménez, Marina C., et al. "Patient room lighting influences on sleep, appraisal and mood in hospitalized people." Journal of sleep research 26.2 (2017): 236-246.

[01:14:51] Babies in a neonatal unit did better with light/dark cycle; Study: Vásquez-Ruiz, Samuel, et al. "A light/dark cycle in the NICU accelerates body weight gain and shortens time to discharge in preterm infants." Early human development 90.9 (2014): 535-540.

[01:17:59] Effects of light at night on plants; Study: Ffrench-Constant, Richard H., et al. "Light pollution is associated with earlier tree budburst across the United Kingdom." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283.1833 (2016): 20160813.

[01:18:50] Maturation of soybeans shifted with  artificial light at night; Study: Palmer, Matthew, et al. Roadway lighting’s impact on altering soybean growth. No. FHWA-ICT-17-010. 2017.

[01:19:44] How to optimise your light environment.

[01:19:54] Incandescent vs compact fluorescent bulbs.

[01:21:58] LED lights.

[01:25:33] Light-emitting devices with screens; metamerism.

[01:26:20] Using metamerism to regulate impact of digital devices; Study: Allen, Annette E., et al. "Exploiting metamerism to regulate the impact of a visual display on alertness and melatonin suppression independent of visual appearance." Sleep 41.8 (2018): zsy100.

[01:26:51] Software that reduces your exposure to short wavelengths: Nightshift (iPhone), Night Light/Blue Light Filter (Android), f.lux.

[01:27:23] Apps to prevent short-wavelength light emissions do help; Study: Gringras, Paul, et al. "Bigger, brighter, bluer-better? Current light-emitting devices–adverse sleep properties and preventative strategies." Frontiers in public health 3 (2015): 233.

[01:27:31] Blue-light blocking app did not improve sleep; Study: Smidt, Alec M., et al. "Effects of Automated Diurnal Variation in Electronic Screen Temperature on Sleep Quality in Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial." Behavioral Sleep Medicine (2021): 1-17.

[01:28:31] Blue-blockers.

[01:31:31] Recommendations for shift workers. Greg’s paper on this topic: Potter, Gregory DM, and Thomas R. Wood. "The future of shift work: Circadian biology meets personalised medicine and behavioural science." Frontiers in Nutrition 7 (2020): 116.

[01:33:34] Jet lag: Jet Lag Rooster.

[01:37:27] Find Greg on Instagram, TikTok; gregpotterphd.com

[01:37:56] Book: When Brains Dream: Understanding the Science and Mystery of Our Dreaming Minds, by Antonio Zadra.

[01:38:08] Book: The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World, by David Deutsch.

[01:38:32] Book: The Precipice by Toby Ord.