Can new bulbs affect energy levels, mood?

Light bulbs used to be boring, says Consumer Reports. Dimming was about as high-tech as they got. But some LEDs have the potential to be much more, thanks to semiconductor chips and electronic circuitry. Some can alter the color of the light they shine, and others claim to help adjust your energy levels and mood.

Consumer Reports put their unique claims through some tests, checked with sleep and lighting experts, and looked at how good they are as standard bulbs.

SLEEP LIKE AN ASTRONAUT

The Definitely Digital Good Night LED and Awake & Alert LED are used to help astronauts sleep or remain alert in space, claims Lighting Science, their manufacturer. Lighting Science LEDs were used in NASA ground-based studies, and the manufacturer helped to develop the LED lighting system scheduled for installation in the International Space Station in 2016, according to NASA’s Dr. Smith Johnston. But NASA won’t say which LEDs it actually uses in space.

For terrestrials, the Good Night LED is promised to help you sleep because it emits less blue light than other LEDs. The amount of blue light is key here: Any light can suppress melatonin, the hormone that facilitates sleep, but human eyes are especially sensitive to blue.

As LEDs become commonplace, it helps to know that they give off more blue light than other types of bulbs, such as CFLs and incandescents, says Terry McGowan, director of engineering for the American Lighting Association, a trade group. CFLs emit some blue light, and incandescents emit little, he adds. Consumer Reports found that the Good Night LED does have significantly lower blue-light levels than other LEDs.

When you’re not trying to sleep, the Good Night, which can substitute for a 60-watt incandescent, casts a bright, warm light that the manufacturer claims will last 25,000 hours, or about 23 years when on for three hours per day.

Trying to wake up? The Awake & Alert LED is claimed to have elevated levels of blue light, which Consumer Reports’ tests confirmed. The 65-watt BR30 replacement LED was almost as bright as stated, but it gave off a light that was a bit more bluish-white than the box stated.

At $70 each, the price of these bulbs is certainly out of this world.

DRIFT OFF GRADUALLY

Saffron’s Drift Light LED, $30, is claimed to promote healthy sleep because its 37-minute auto-dimming feature helps your body gradually shift from light to dark. In “midnight mode,” Consumer Reports’ tests found that it dimmed completely over 37 minutes, which the company says is the average duration of a sunset.

It replaces a 40-watt general-purpose incandescent, so it’s not very bright. The tests found that it wasn’t even as bright as claimed in “daylight mode,” and it cast a white light. Evidence is lacking on the benefits of gradually dimming lights in preparation for sleep, according to the researchers interviewed. They also questioned the magic of 37 minutes because the length of twilight varies by latitude.

LEDS TO DANCE TO

Few light bulbs come with as good a backstory as the Lifx. It was created by a former rock drummer/electrician/app developer. Phil Bosua pitched the idea for his bulb in a video on crowd-funding site Kickstarter in 2012. Funders pledged $1.3 million in six days. Fast-forward to today, and Lifx color-changing LEDs, which connect to a Wi-Fi network and can be controlled by a smartphone, are for sale.

Consumer Reports installed the smartphone app, set up the bulbs with a Wi-Fi network and put Lifx through its paces. Testers easily changed the light to any color they wanted and played with some effects — the light flickered like a candle in candle mode, and the lava light cycled through intense colors. But at $99 per bulb, it’s an expensive way to light a house or even a room — and let’s face it, not every day is a party.

2015 Consumers Union Inc.