Effects of blue-depleted indoor lighting on hospital ward employees

In recent years, new knowledge has emerged about the impact of light and darkness on sleep and health in shift workers. In particular, it has been shown that blue light in the evening and night can shift the circadian rhythm and make shift workers more awake, while blocking blue light in the evening can help keep the circadian rhythm stable and improve the sleep and mental health of shift workers. In this project we will use a lighting technology where we can adjust qualitative aspect of the light source during the day. This allows us to create a light environment where there is no blue light during evenings and at night, while there is regular light for the rest of the day. The main objective is to investigate what effect this has on the sleep and function of shift workers. We will investigate this in a study at St. Olavs Hospital, Østmarka where 106 shift workers will work six weeks with blue-depleted light during evening and night shifts (and regular light for the rest of the day), and six weeks in regular light condition during all shifts.

Publications so far:

Kjørstad, Faaland, Sivertsen, Kallestad, Langsrud, Vethe, Vestergaard, Harris, Pallesen, Scott, Vedaa. Sleep and work functioning in nurses undertaking inpatient shifts in a blue-depleted light environment. BMC Nursing 2022