Back in the day, people woke up at the crack of dawn without an alarm clock to hit snooze on. This is because of the circadian rhythm—physical, mental and behavioural changes in a daily cycle that are created by the effect of light and darkness.
As today’s homes are not structured to allow the entry of sufficient light to allow this natural process to continue uninterrupted, artificial lighting within the home will then affect the body’s natural rhythm.
So, if you have faced issues around sleep deprivation in the recent past, the reason is simple. The lack of sunlight is playing havoc on your body. In the absence of ways to soak in all the sunlight our body needs, is there a way to recreate the process inside our homes? The Philips Hue Lighting range has been created as a solution to this modern-day problem. While we cannot emphasise how important sunlight is for your well-being, the hue lights could help set your body clock right.
With its effective range of lights and a wide variety of modes, going through daily grind just got easier. What’s more, if you have not become used to working from home and feel groggy in the morning as you blink in protest against the bright tube light, this could be the solution to easing into the day. Read on to know how!
What are Philips Hue Lights?
Philips Hue is a wireless lighting system created with the sole purpose of going beyond just illumining spaces. Instead, it provides the type of lighting you need for different tasks throughout the day.
You can choose from white and coloured bulbs, lighting strips, table lamps, cove lights and downlights. These lights can be used on the ceiling, in pendant lights or floor lamps.
What’s more, there are distinct options for each room of the house, including a mirror light for the bathroom to ensure that you don’t squint as you wash your face in the morning, or lose sleep if you need to take a trip to the washroom at night. You can also opt for accessories like the Hue bridge and dimmer switches that help you light up your rooms, just right!
These lights help you create the right ambience by allowing you to choose the optimal colour and tone of light. Moreover, you can set timers according to your convenience, or sync the lights to music. The best part is that you can control these lights using the Philips Hue app, without having to move from your place.
And if you’re far away from home, only to realise that you’ve left a light on, you can switch it off with just your phone! It’s also compatible with voice assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri. The Philips Hue bridge makes this possible. This device can support upto 50 devices and 12 accessories, making your home look like a dream.
What’s so special about Philips Hue Lights?
Each part of the day, and each activity we take part in, calls for different lighting hues and requirements. The changing shades of sunlight impacts our energy levels and helps us perform different tasks with the required efficiency.
For example, we need cool white light, which has a bluish shade in the morning. This makes us feel awakened and energised by activating the hormone responsible for maintaining high energy levels in the body. Similarly, at night, warm white or yellowish lights help our body in relaxing. This also activates the hormone responsible for sleep. During the course of the day, a neutral white light is a good option.
So Philips Hue Lights come with six different settings to match the internal clock of your body. With its present modes to light up in hues of white, you can go through your daily activities, including waking up, preparing for the day, eating, working, reading and relaxing, such that going to sleep becomes easier.
#1: Wake up Mode
If you spend the first few minutes of your morning blinking furiously, trying to adjust to the world around you, we’ve got a solution. Philips Hue Lights can fade in gently at a preset time in the morning.
This mimics natural sunlight in your room. By gradually lighting up the room, we have increased levels of Cortisol (commonly known as the stress hormone) in the blood. When you wake up and switch on the light, the time taken in producing adequate amounts of Cortisol can leave you feeling groggy. So, Philip Hue’s Wake Up mode makes it easier to awaken fully.
The Philips Hue Lights shine with bright white or intense blue light in the morning, which helps the body clock fall back in place and reinforces a regular sleeping pattern, when used at a regular time everyday.
#2: Energise Mode
If you want to use lighting hues to amp up the energy in your home, this is the mode for you. The cool while light in this mode helps you in prepping for the day ahead. So whether you want to work out in style or catch up with family over breakfast, this light is all you need!
#3: Concentrate Mode
Do you have trouble focusing while studying or working?
Sometimes, we associate home with relaxation while the bright office lighting helps us concentrate on the task at hand. This might have thrown your life into a frenzy as you work from home.
The Concentrate mode of Philips Hue lighting can help you work to your full potential. The finely tuned bright white light in this mode helps you function at your best, thus helping you finish complicated tasks down to the last detail.
#4: Read Mode
If you enjoy curling up with a good book and losing yourself in the world of words, there’s something special in store for you. Philips Hue comes with the right lighting hues that let you read and explore without straining your eyes. The lights adjust from cool to warm for the right shade of white, allowing you to read on in peace.
#5: Relax Mode
Working from home has removed the thin line between work and personal life for many of us. So, as you work and relax in the same space, unwinding can be difficult. That’s when Philips Hue can come to the rescue. The subtle, soft warm white hues of the Relax mode helps you unwind, no matter how tiring the day has been.
The light here is predominantly dim and is low in blue wavelength.
Research shows that avoiding bright and blue lights in the evening can help us relax without messing up our internal clock.
So that’s exactly what this mode with warm white lights can give you!
#6: Go to Sleep Mode
This mode prepares you to go to sleep by simply pressing a button. In the Go to sleep mode, the lights gently fade out. You can also choose between a fully dark setting or leave a nightlight on, in this mode.
Studies show that bright lights in the last few hours before bed can suppress melatonin, the hormone inducing sleepiness. Exposing yourself to bright light for even a few minutes can cause you to lose sleep, and make it difficult to wake up the next morning. So, in the evening, avoid bright lights and opt for the soft lighting in Philips Hue Lights’ Go to sleep mode.
How much do these lights cost?
Depending on your tastes and requirements, you can choose the right lighting from Philips Hue for your home. The cost of a single White Ambiance bulb starts from ₹2,900, and can last upto 22 years with three hours of regular usage daily. If you want to choose from different colours, the White and Colour Ambiance bulbs start from ₹4,000. You can also opt for downlights, cove lights and lighting strips, apart from the pendant lights and floor lamps. And if you’re confused about the best option, the Philips Hue Starter Kit, priced at ₹20,500, might be a good beginning. This kit comes with three bulbs and the Hue bridge, which lies at the heart of the smart lighting system and makes it possible to control the lights through your smartphone, tablet or even your voice. You can install these in your house and see how it changes your lives!
Want to know more about different types of lights? Your Search for All Things Lighting Ends Here.
Check out lighting tips for your home:
Send in your thoughts and suggestions to editor@livspace.com.
