The cool white LED bulbs were keeping me awake for hours on end. Now, swapping to warm dim lights improved my sleep quality significantly.
The change was instant. Instead of lying awake scrolling through my phone until 2 AM, I began feeling naturally sleepy around 10 PM. My Fitbit showed I was falling asleep 40 minutes faster than before.
Why bedroom lighting ruins your sleep
Most individuals use the wrong color temperature during the night. The bright white LED bulbs are greatly efficient in emitting blue light which tricks the brain into thinking it is daytime.
The blue light with a wavelength of around 480 nanometers activates special receptors in your eyes, called melanopsin receptors. These receptors signal to suppress melatonin production by 31-40% using dim lighting.
Cool light at 6500K has 3-5 times more of blue wavelengths than warm 3000K lighting. This is the reason why people feel wired after using their laptop or siting under bright overhead lights before bed.Whenever you use a laptop or sit under bright overhead lights, you'll encounter this.
Your core body temperature also becomes messed up. Keeping the lighting cool delays the natural decline in temperature needed for sleep onset by a quarter to a third of a degree.
Smart bulbs that actually work
With Philips Hue, you can program color transitions for specific times of the day. I have mine set to bright cool white during work hours, and warm amber after sunset.
Yeelight Pro bulbs do the same thing, but cost significantly less. Everything is controlled through an app and can be voice commanded with Alexa.
The key setting is color temperature. For alertness, I use 5000K-6500K during the day. After 7 PM, all devices switch to 2700K-3000K automatically.
Along with color, brightness is equally important. Two hours before bed, I dim lights to under 180 lux. This is a setting most smart bulbs have in their apps.
Simple dimmer switches work too
Regular dimmer switches paired with warm LED bulbs can work smart lighting wonders. There is no need for expensive smart bulbs to improve sleep lighting.
I did this to my bedroom and living room, and installed the dimmers for less than $30 each. Now, I gradually lower the lights starting around dinner.
These dimming methods closely resemble gradual sunset dimming and allow your circadian rhythms to begin winding down the body, preparing it for sleep.
Red night lights are powerful tools for enhancing sleep quality
Previously, trips to the bathroom during the night would fully wake me up. The bright white lights would completely reset my melatonin levels.
Amber and red lights do emit blue light but at a much lower level compared to white lights. Therefore, I can move around my flat without disturbing my circadian rhythms.
I bought Red LED night lights on Amazon for roughly $15. I installed them in the bathroom, hallway, and kitchen. This is far better than fumbling in the dark.
Changes in Sleep Data
Prior to improving my lighting, I was sleeping just over 6 hours with multiple wake-ups throughout the night. My fitness tracker gave me a sleep efficiency score of 78%.
Within a week of switching to warm lights in the evening, those numbers looked much better. Sleep duration improved significantly with an increase to 7.4 hours of sleep, along with far fewer interruptions. This has also improved sleep efficiency, which jumped to 89%.
Morning grogginess is completely gone after about one week off and I no longer need 3 cups of coffee before noon to function.
The most surprising change was that I was able to naturally follow a good sleep schedule. My body began producing melatonin at the correct times and no longer had to fight with bright lights for most of the evening.
Changes that had the most impact
The most impactful change was the warm white light bulbs at 2700K. Switching from cool white LEDs to warm white bulbs cut blue light exposure by nearly 60%.
Helpful changes included dimming the lights to 25% brightness 2 hours before bed. The combination of warm color temperature, low intensity, and the slow dimming put me in the mood for sleep.
Avoiding overhead lights completely after dinner was essential as well. I used table and floor lamps set at eye level and below.
Using night mode on my phone was helpful, but did not replace proper room lighting. The most important part was changing the ambient lighting throughout all of the rooms and living areas.
Once schedules are set, smart lighting makes this effortless. Even basic warm bulbs paired with manual dimmers significantly improve sleep quality.
I’ve learned that proper lighting in the bedroom aligns circadian rhythms to natural day-night cycles and automatically melatonin production reduces and the core body temperature follows its normal decline. These factors enable quicker sleep onset, less mid-sleep awakenings, and enhance rest.