Getting a good night’s sleep doesn’t depend solely on going to bed early or on eight hours of sleep. The quality of rest is also conditioned by the habits we maintain in the late part of the day, especially by exposure to light and the use of electronic devices. In this context, expert in natural medicine and science communicator Pablo Hernández has highlighted what he regards as the simplest and most economical change to improve sleep: replacing the usual lighting with red light before bedtime and putting the mobile phone aside.
His recommendation stems from a principle broadly supported by sleep science. Light is the main regulator of the circadian rhythm, the biological clock that tells the body when to stay awake and when it’s time to rest. When night falls, the brain starts producing melatonin, the hormone that promotes sleep. However, exposure to bright lights and, especially, to white or blue light emitted by screens and LED bulbs can delay this process.
Light directly influences melatonin production
According to Pablo Hernández, red light is much less stimulating for the brain and allows the transition to rest to occur more naturally. Therefore, he recommends using lamps with this kind of lighting during the last hour of the day and avoiding smartphone use before sleeping, since the combination of screen light and the content we consume keeps the brain in a state of alertness.
A clear advocate of this is the footballer Marco Llorente who explained during an interview with Pablo Motos on El Hormiguero that he uses red light at night because its effect more closely resembles darkness. According to him, our organism is regulated by the natural cycles of light and darkness, so that when the sun goes down, the body begins to prepare for rest.
Although modern life has extended the hours of activity thanks to artificial lighting, red light allows us to continue tasks without significantly interfering with melatonin production, the key hormone for regulating sleep. Marco Llorente knows its benefits well and, in fact, said he always travels with a red-light lamp to maintain this habit wherever he is.
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James Whitaker
I’m James Whitaker, a UK-based journalist focused on emerging trends and everyday stories gaining attention across the country. I cover the topics people start talking about before they fully break into the mainstream. My work aims to stay clear, factual, and closely connected to how news is actually consumed today.