New Light®
The misuse of artificial light alters the mechanism that regulates melatonin levels during the day and night, thus deteriorating circadian rhythms, which are essential to our health.
From the need to preserve them was born New
Light®.
CONCEPT
Circadian Rhythms
and Health
Many people do not know exactly what circadian rhythms are, and what positive and negative impact maintaining their integrity has on our health. Even less widespread is the knowledge that the incorrect or unconscious use of artificial light, as we do on a daily basis, can harm these rhythms.
Are we familiar with the effects of jet lag or social lag?
These are the most immediate and obvious. Others are not.
Main positive effects of proper use of artificial light
Lower incidence of hormone-dependent cancers
improved efficiency of the immune system
increased productivity
increased attention and concentration
better sleep quality
Every individual has a biological clock lasting about 24 hours, which regulates sleep/wake alternation and repeats cyclically. This cycle is called the circadian rhythm and is derived from the Latin circa-diem, meaning almost a day.
Homo Sapiens evolved in an environment exposed to alternating light/darkness. This meant that all biological systems in our body also had an on-off rhythm related to this light/dark alternation. The integrity of this rhythm is crucial for our health, as its alteration leads to a significant reduction in the efficiency of our immune system, and not only that: it induces in the short term a marked fatigability, reduced ability to concentrate, sleep disorders and, in the long term, to a significant increase in the risk of getting cancer, especially hormone-dependent cancers (breast, prostate, colon, etc.), obesity, cardiovascular, neurological diseases.
SCIENTIFIC BASIS
What regulates
circadian rhythms
The circadian rhythm is regulated by sunlight and especially by certain wavelength bands of the visible spectrum.
Within the latter, the cyan/blue 460-490nm wavelengths are the most effective in stimulating the area of the brain (epiphysis or pineal gland) deputed to control and regulate circadian rhythms, inducing the inhibition or production of melatonin, the hormone that controls sleep-wake rhythms.
OUR VISION
Quality of light
Since the advent of artificial light, its quality has been discussed, declining in multiple ways. More recently, concepts such as color rendering, color temperature, illuminance, emotional impact, well-being, and flicker have emerged in the marketplace to denote lighting quality. In our opinion, this is no longer enough: more needs to be offered.
The solution we propose is an optimized lighting management system: an integrated, science-based, sustainable solution.
The goal of supporting circadian rhythms as a whole is achievable with our New Light® system by properly dosing the amount of light an individual receives to the eye, calibrating the spectrum at the right time and for the right amount of time.
This is the Quality of Light for us: light that supports and safeguards the natural biological system without altering its sensitive balance, and thus our health.
Today it has become necessary to consciously manage and control lighting in the built environment, in the rooms where we spend most of our time
OUR PROJECTS
NEW LIGHT
The idea for New Light® came from the realization thatcircadian rhythms strongly impact our health. After conducting studies since 2015 of chronobiology and then of its applications in lighting, we have developed a controlled lighting system that responds to this new need: the preservation of circadian rhythms and everyone's health. We do this by integrating specific devices, tools and indicators that integrate new medical knowledge + information technology + lighting design.
The idea was patented by Dr. Marco Pirovano and developed by the BeSapiens team. It is produced in collaboration with lighting company Pollice Illuminazione S.r.l.
The final product is a system consisting of a control unit,
spectrophotometric sensors and specifically developed luminaires: this is the New Light® system.
Thanks to the constant dialogue between the control unit and sensors,the New Light® system is able to control the light spectrum and intensity of light delivered into the environment according to the time of day, season and latitude, taking into consideration the different existing light sources: natural light from windows, lamps, colored walls, reflective surfaces. In this way it manages to ensure the proper alignment of our biological clock with natural circadian rhythms.
Specifically, the sensor continuously reads spectrophotometric data of ambient light, provides it to the control unit, which, by processing it, modifies the emission of the light fixtures so as to keep the stimulus to the suprachiasmatic nuclei in line with the needs, given by the time of day and season, to keep melatonin production low during the day and increase its levels at night, thus ensuring compliance with our circadian rhythms.
THE NORMATIVE.
European Certifications
Generally speaking, we can say that we are facing a major problem of Light Pollution, both internal and external, which-in an extended sense-hinges on the problem of environmental pollution, an issue to which European standards and certifications are increasingly sensitive.
For example, the first action typically taken on a new project is the WELL Assessment, the first system to define the parameters by which buildings can improve our lives by focusing on people's comfort.
The protocol is divided into ten categories called "Concepts": Air, Water, Nutrition, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community. Our system/product attacks the Light Concept of these ten categories by providing companies, and others, with an intelligent system that concretely helps human beings and their productivity and builders with an excellent proposition that combines science and design for the projects they are responsible for. This is just one example of the many certifications and standards that govern the use of light.
OUR PROJECTS
ONE SYSTEM, INFINITE APPLICATIONS
FAQ
The most frequently asked questions
What are the new features of the Clever Light® system?
The novelty of the New Light® system is that it is designed to condition the activation and, conversely, the inhibition of the production of melatonin (a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle); specifically to act as an activator and inhibitor of the substance responsible for the release of melatonin. The result of our studies in chronobiology, clinical medicine and applied physiology, the New Light® system is able to protect the individual from the harmful effects produced by improper exposure to artificial lights that do not induce inhibition of melatonin production during the day and adequate stimulation of melatonin production during the evening and night hours. Physiologically, it is light (natural or artificial) that stimulates specific photoreceptors in the retina to 'inform' the epiphysis to inhibit melatonin production.
How does New Light® work?
Clever Light® consists of a control unit that, connected to a spectrophotometric sensor capable of accurately detecting indoor ambient light, counteracts the lighting of the lamps in the individual rooms where the system is installed. Thus: the sensor captures at any time (30s to 3min.) the spectrum of light and thus its wavelengths, as well as intensity and color temperature, and the control unit modifies the spectrum and wavelengths delivered by the lamps according to the time of day and month.
What problem does it solve?
We spend between 80 and 90 percent of our time indoors, thus with a reduced supply of natural light or with an insufficient or incorrect contribution of artificial light. Numerous scientific studies over the decades have confirmed and consolidated the finding that chronic misalignment between our lifestyle and the circadian rhythm dictated by our internal biological clock may be associated with increased risk of various diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic disorders, and some cancers.
What does it have over other similar solutions?
From a technical point of view, the New Light® system is able to control the intensity and light spectrum of the luminaires according to the actual spectrum present in the individual rooms where the system is installed. The added value of the system is that it is continuously monitored during its operation by a team of physicians and experts in its technologies.
Is the technology used in Clever Light® patented?
Yes! The system with the control unit are protected by a patent from Be Sapiens S.r.l.: Industrial Invention Patent No. 102017000099311, applied for in 2017 and granted in 2019.
Does Clever Light® carry out health prevention activities?
Above all. Numerous scientific papers published in the largest and most prestigious international journals describe the damage to our health caused by incorrect exposure to artificial light resulting in the loss of the integrity and robustness of our circadian rhythms.
Why believe in the New Light® solution?
We designed and developed an innovative system by integrating our medical, clinical and chronobiology knowledge, with the ability to incorporate different technologies. Be Sapiens is a team of medical specialists and technology transfer experts with more than 20 years of experience. As human beings, we need to evolve, using our knowledge to increasingly improve our interaction with the environment that has shaped us. Innovation in this field is a necessity.