FAQ
Biocentric lighting
Biocentric lighting by BrainLit simulates the important aspects of daylight, including wavelength, intensity, direction, timing, and duration, to sustain a healthy circadian rhythm. Biocentric lighting delivers the right circadian stimulation power at any point in time.
Biocentric lighting environments by BrainLit directly counter the effects of circadian misalignment caused by lack of proper light exposure. As an intelligent lighting solution that accurately simulates natural daylight for human well-being, Biocentric lighting uses algorithm-based light recipes to both balance and sustain the circadian rhythm. Benefits of a synchronized circadian rhythm as supported by Biocentric lighting include:
- Better sleep¹
- Increased alertness²
- Improved cognitive performance³
Biocentric lighting delivers a specified circadian impact power to the users at any point in time and describes how that impact power varies throughout the day and the effect it will have on the circadian phase of a group of people. This variation is described by Biocentric lighting recipes, and a recipe is tailored to application and population.
The impact power of Biocentric lighting is quantified using established circadian metrics and all parts of the Biocentric lighting system are designed from scratch to provide Biocentric lighting. In contrast, there is no unified definition of what Human Centric Lighting means and generally speaking the circadian impact power of Human Centric Lighting is not defined and can consequently not be tailored to neither population nor application.
Yes, our free-standing solution Alven is ideal for home use.
Yes! But you would need to be spending a few hours in the early day outdoors, as this helps support a healthy circadian rhythm.
Light therapy in its traditional meaning is very high brightness for a short period of time, reoccurring every few days. Biocentric lighting recipes ensure timing and duration of circadian impact power is balanced to meet the user needs every day and achieve strong sustained entrainment.
We take pride in acting responsibly in everything we do, helping customers improving their businesses in sustainable ways. We agree with United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (also referred to as Agenda 2030), following a set of guidelines to help us act in sustainable ways when it comes to the social, economic and climate aspects of creating growth in responsible ways. Learn more.
There is nothing beating outdoor light at noon in the summer. However, the additional value of outdoor light compared to the benefit of Biocentric lighting over conventional indoor lighting is generally much smaller. Few of us have the opportunity to spend the hours outdoors that is needed, on a daily basis, for sufficient exposure. Biocentric lighting will alleviate that deficit. Outdoor morning light exposure in wintertime can, especially on northern latitudes, be much lower than what would be desirable from circadian perspective. Biocentric lighting will alleviate that.
Please send us your enquiry through our get a quote form. If you are in North America you can buy or free-standing solution Alven online.
Science
Bright days and dark nights is what tells the master clock how to synchronize the circadian rhythm. With insufficiently bright days or insufficiently dark evenings, use of screens or lit bedrooms nighttime, the message to the master clock is vague resulting in weak circadian entrainment and suffering sleep quality.
Circadian rhythms helps regulate many bodily functions such as sleep, metabolism and cognition. Light is the most important time cue for the circadian rhythm. When we spend most of our time indoors in conventional indoor lighting, our circadian rhythms may struggle to synchronize without exposure to daylight.
Most of us don’t get enough light to synchronize with the solar day. We also sleep too little. This can lead to circadian disruption, which is associated with short and long term health effects.
The disruption of our circadian rhythm can happen over different periods and occasions during our life. Factors which can impact our circadian rhythm are lack of daylight exposure and frequent changes in our sleep schedule.
A synchronized circadian rhythm is a vital piece of the puzzle that helps your body’s internal mechanisms function properly. It affects your sleep patterns, as well as other aspects of your body’s functioning, such as hormones, body temperature, and eating habits.
Biocentric lighting is a system that can handle circadian adaptation by synchronizing our biological rhythm with solar time.
Light has an effect on our biology and wellbeing that is greater than most people are aware of and that goes beyond the visual effects of light. Light affects normal human physiology in a profound way such as sleep and growth.
People differ in their preferred timing of sleep and wake, which is a physiological behaviour known as chronotypes.
No. Blue light can be used to improve attention and sustain working memory. On the other hand it is important to reduce exposure to blue light in the evening, as it can lead to sleep delay or difficulty falling asleep.
Healthy light will stimulate the circadian system at the right time of the day and avoid disrupting the circadian system during evening and nighttime, in order to synchronize the circadian rhythm with the solar day and the social schedule.
Unhealthy light will have insufficient or arbitrary stimulation or in the worst case directly disruptive stimulation of the circadian system. Conventional lighting is often too dim during daytime and too bright during nighttime, and therefore unhealthy.
The two most common circadian metrics used to measure and communicate the impact of light on one’s circadian rhythm are Melanopic Equivalent Daylight Illuminance (m-EDI) and Circadian Stimulus (CS). Different building and light standards use different metrics for lighting requirements. Read more
Solutions
We deliver healthy and safe environments using light. Our solutions can be used for instant sanitary purposes or to support long term health and wellbeing.
ELVEN is the fully customized Biocentric lighting solution. It can be a single luminaire to full enterprise, hospital or similar and can grow and adjust seamlessly with the operation.
ALVEN is a free-standing fully integrated Biocentric lighting solution.
Biocentric lighting sets are preconfigured plug and play package solutions tailored to the application with specified circadian power (mEDI).
The UVEN disinfection lighting solution uses UVC lighting to quickly, safely and automatically disinfect both air and surfaces to create a safe and healthy environment.
About BrainLit
BrainLit’s business is based on a deep understanding of light’s impact on human physiology. Our goal is to set the global standard for healthy lighting and improve life for people through innovative lighting solutions.
The company was founded in 2012 by Tord Wingren, one of the inventors of Bluetooth technology.
BrainLit employs people with a passion for health, innovation and technology. Our headquarters are in Lund, Sweden. Our North American team is based in New York, USA. Learn more about our people.
We are a privately owned company with 125 shareholders, most of whom have invested in us privately because they share our passion for improving human well-being.
Headquartered in Lund, Sweden, BrainLit has a subsidiary in the United States with its offices in New York City.
Yes, BrainLit has more than 15 patent families and some are classified as foundational. We own the intellectual property rights for the personalization of light environments based on user feedback.
References
1) Figueiro MG, Steverson B, Heerwa- gen J, Kampschroer K, Hunter CM, Gonzales K, Plitnick B, Rea MS, The impact of daytime light exposures on sleep and mood in office workers, Sleep Health (2017) Jun;3(3):204-215.
2) Viola AU, James LM, Schlangen LJ, Dijk DJ, Blue-enriched white light in the workplace improves self-reported alertness, performance and sleep quality, Scand J Work Environ Health (2008) Aug;34(4):297-306.
3) Beaven CM, Ekström J, A comparison of blue light and caffeine effects on cognitive function and alertness in humans, PLoS One (2013) Oct 7; 8(10):e7607
