Improving children’s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue-enriched white light in the kindergarten playroom
Abstract Preschool children, who spend most of their time indoors, and the effects of artificial light on children’s health and performance are important. Previous studies show that blue-enriched white light (BWL) has significant effects on human bodies, but only a few studies have specifically exam...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00072-9 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850042130209177600 |
|---|---|
| author | Yankang Jiang Xiaodong Hu Peijun Wen |
| author_facet | Yankang Jiang Xiaodong Hu Peijun Wen |
| author_sort | Yankang Jiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Preschool children, who spend most of their time indoors, and the effects of artificial light on children’s health and performance are important. Previous studies show that blue-enriched white light (BWL) has significant effects on human bodies, but only a few studies have specifically examined its effects in young children. Moreover, due to the significant physiological differences between children and adults, findings from BWL studies in adults cannot be directly applied to children. Therefore, investigating the effects of BWL on young children living in indoor environments is crucial. We recruited 24 preschool children (age: 5 ± 0.8 years; 12 girls and 12 boys) to participate in a within-subject, randomized crossover study involving common white light (CWL) (450 lx, Melanopic EDI: 354.04 lx) and BWL (450 lx, Melanopic EDI: 746.05 lx) in a kindergarten playroom. Under different light conditions, the children underwent tests for cardiac activity and critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF), as well as psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and ruler drop test (RDT). The results indicated that BWL had significant effects on preschool children. Compared to CWL exposure, BWL exposure significantly improved cardiac activity, alertness, and neuromuscular response but slightly increased visual fatigue. Our study reveals that BWL has significant potential to improve children’s physiological and cognitive functions, particularly to improve cardiac activity, alertness, and neuromuscular response. This study broadens the understanding of the effects of indoor lighting on children and provides a theoretical basis for designing a healthy indoor environment for children. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4f6be1d1075e49caa2a85473f3f3f379 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-4f6be1d1075e49caa2a85473f3f3f3792025-08-20T02:55:38ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-00072-9Improving children’s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue-enriched white light in the kindergarten playroomYankang Jiang0Xiaodong Hu1Peijun Wen2Department of Sports Science, School of Physical Education, South China University of TechnologyState Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Peking UniversityDepartment of Sports Science, School of Physical Education, South China University of TechnologyAbstract Preschool children, who spend most of their time indoors, and the effects of artificial light on children’s health and performance are important. Previous studies show that blue-enriched white light (BWL) has significant effects on human bodies, but only a few studies have specifically examined its effects in young children. Moreover, due to the significant physiological differences between children and adults, findings from BWL studies in adults cannot be directly applied to children. Therefore, investigating the effects of BWL on young children living in indoor environments is crucial. We recruited 24 preschool children (age: 5 ± 0.8 years; 12 girls and 12 boys) to participate in a within-subject, randomized crossover study involving common white light (CWL) (450 lx, Melanopic EDI: 354.04 lx) and BWL (450 lx, Melanopic EDI: 746.05 lx) in a kindergarten playroom. Under different light conditions, the children underwent tests for cardiac activity and critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF), as well as psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and ruler drop test (RDT). The results indicated that BWL had significant effects on preschool children. Compared to CWL exposure, BWL exposure significantly improved cardiac activity, alertness, and neuromuscular response but slightly increased visual fatigue. Our study reveals that BWL has significant potential to improve children’s physiological and cognitive functions, particularly to improve cardiac activity, alertness, and neuromuscular response. This study broadens the understanding of the effects of indoor lighting on children and provides a theoretical basis for designing a healthy indoor environment for children.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00072-9Preschool childrenLighting environmentBlue-enriched white lightAlertnessNeuromuscular response |
| spellingShingle | Yankang Jiang Xiaodong Hu Peijun Wen Improving children’s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue-enriched white light in the kindergarten playroom Scientific Reports Preschool children Lighting environment Blue-enriched white light Alertness Neuromuscular response |
| title | Improving children’s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue-enriched white light in the kindergarten playroom |
| title_full | Improving children’s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue-enriched white light in the kindergarten playroom |
| title_fullStr | Improving children’s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue-enriched white light in the kindergarten playroom |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving children’s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue-enriched white light in the kindergarten playroom |
| title_short | Improving children’s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue-enriched white light in the kindergarten playroom |
| title_sort | improving children s alertness and neuromuscular response by using a blue enriched white light in the kindergarten playroom |
| topic | Preschool children Lighting environment Blue-enriched white light Alertness Neuromuscular response |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00072-9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yankangjiang improvingchildrensalertnessandneuromuscularresponsebyusingablueenrichedwhitelightinthekindergartenplayroom AT xiaodonghu improvingchildrensalertnessandneuromuscularresponsebyusingablueenrichedwhitelightinthekindergartenplayroom AT peijunwen improvingchildrensalertnessandneuromuscularresponsebyusingablueenrichedwhitelightinthekindergartenplayroom |