Blue lights as the new caffeine?

Students and adults alike resort to coffee for their regular dose of caffeine but new findings shed light on a possible alternative without the common side effects accompanying coffee.

“Using blue lights in right amounts can have a positive effect on health,” a research team led by Mid Sweden University said.

The research findings show blue lights have an effect that’s similar to caffeine intake. Habitual coffee drinkers can be freed from sleeping disorders, heart palpitations, fretfulness and caffeine addiction by replacing coffee with blue lights, which are commonly produced by smartphone displays and LED bulbs.

Blue lights were shown to improve cognitive abilities including memory and alertness and to shorten reaction time by stimulating a certain part of the brain, but without the side effects of a chemical stimulant.

Though disruptive to sleep, blue lights have already been proved be effective in a range of medical treatments. Bad breath can be cured with a two-minute oral exposure to blue lights. The light triggers a biological change without harming the tissue cells.

By Yoon Ha-youn, intern reporter
(yhayoun@heraldcorp.com)