Effects of Daytime Electric Light Exposure on Human Alertness and Higher Cognitive Functions: A Systematic Review

Frontiers in Psychology

Vineetha Kalavally¹  Mushfiqul Anwar Siraji²  Shamsul Haque²  Alexandre Schaefer³ 

[1] Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia;Department of Psychology, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia;Department of Psychology, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia;School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia;

关键词: short-wavelength dominant light;    higher intensity white light;    subjective alertness;    reaction time;    higher cognitive functions;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.765750

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

This paper reports the results of a systematic review conducted on articles examining the effects of daytime electric light exposure on alertness and higher cognitive functions. For this, we selected 59 quantitative research articles from 11 online databases. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020157603). The results showed that both short-wavelength dominant light exposure and higher intensity white light exposure induced alertness. However, those influences depended on factors like the participants’ homeostatic sleep drive and the time of day the participants received the light exposure. The relationship between light exposure and higher cognitive functions was not as straightforward as the alerting effect. The optimal light property for higher cognitive functions was reported dependent on other factors, such as task complexity and properties of control light. Among the studies with short-wavelength dominant light exposure, ten studies (morning: 3; afternoon: 7) reported beneficial effects on simple task performances (reaction time), and four studies (morning: 3; afternoon: 1) on complex task performances. Four studies with higher intensity white light exposure (morning: 3; afternoon: 1) reported beneficial effects on simple task performance and nine studies (morning: 5; afternoon: 4) on complex task performance. Short-wavelength dominant light exposure with higher light intensity induced a beneficial effect on alertness and simple task performances. However, those effects did not hold for complex task performances. The results indicate the need for further studies to understand the influence of short-wavelength dominant light exposure with higher illuminance on alertness and higher cognitive functions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY