Best Color Of Light For Sleep: What Works For Adults And Kids

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These Types of Light Could Help You Sleep Better

Medically reviewed by Thomas Johnson, PA-C — Written by Daniel Yetman — Updated on October 22, 2024

Best colors for sleep
For babies and children
Worst colors
Other factors
Summary

Certain types of light can affect your mood and quality of sleep. Red light may help, while blue light from phones or screens could interfere with falling asleep or the quality of your rest.

You may have heard that you should avoid bright lights before bed. While this is good advice, it turns out that some colors of light may disrupt your sleep more than others.

Melatonin is a hormone that largely controls your body’s natural sleep-wake cycles. Specialized photoreceptors in your eyes send information back to your brain and influence your production of melatonin.

This research review has found that these receptors are most sensitive to light with wavelengths around 450 to 480 nanometers (nm). To most people, this light appears blue.

There’s still a limited amount of research looking at the effects of other light colors on our sleep cycles. However, there’s some evidence that warm colors may help lull you to sleep more quickly than cool colors.

Let’s look at which colors have the potential to lull you to sleep the quickest and which might have you tossing and turning all night.

Colors that may help you sleep

Until now, most studies examining the best types of light to stimulate sleep have involved rodents. However, because rodents are nocturnal and colorblind, it’s hard to draw conclusions from these studies.

Limited research on humans suggests there is some evidence that red light may help stimulate sleep. There’s also some evidence that individual preference may also play a role.

Since pink light consists of a combination of red and purple light waves, it could also be beneficial — in theory. However, there’s no research backing the claim at this time.

Red light

Some early, nonhuman research shows that red light may allow for better sleep.

This 2023 research notes that red light does affect sleep quality and alertness as a person is preparing for and trying to fall asleep. That research specifically involved people who experience insomnia.

While more comprehensive research in humans would be needed, this rodent study notes that red light may help you fall sleep quicker and improve the quality of your sleep.

This 2017 study also on mice found that red light at an intensity of 10 lux or higher had the potential to induce sleep. The researchers noted that light under 10 lux had no effect.

Individual differences

In this 2017 study, researchers found evidence that individual taste may also play a role in determining which color light is best for inducing sleep. In the study, researchers ran two different experiments.

In the first experiment, they exposed participants to white light, a random color, or their self-selected preferred color. The researchers observed that participants exposed to their preferred light color fell asleep significantly quicker.

Color	Time to fall asleep
white	18.8 minutes
random nonpreferred color	18.1 minutes
preferred color	11.8 minutes

In the second experiment, the researchers also included a group that was only exposed to darkness.

Once again, the researchers found that the group exposed to their preferred color fell asleep significantly quicker than participants in the other groups.

Color	Time to fall asleep
white	21.2 minutes
darkness	21.1 minutes
random nonpreferred color	16.8 minutes
preferred color	12.3 minutes

Best light color for babies and children

Babies and children seem to also be negatively affected before bed by blue and white lights. That’s why experts often recommend warmer colors for night lights.

A 2018 study examined the impact of two colors of light — whitish-blue and yellow — on the sleepiness levels of children and adults.

The researchers found that children had greater melatonin suppression than adults in both cases, but their melatonin was even more suppressed when exposed to yellow light.

Some people worry that exposing infants to bright lights at night while nursing could negatively affect their health.

Worst colors to light up a room for sleep

These colors may not be ideal for helping you sleep.

Blue: This 2018 study notes that exposure to blue light can negatively impact your sleep quality. Electronic screens, LED lights, and fluorescent lights can all contain blue light.

Violet: Research from 2024 also found that violet light may have a similar effect as blue light.

Green: Older research over the past few decades also notes that green light can negatively affect melatonin levels for your sleep.

What bedroom factors may help you sleep better?

Many factors can affect the quality of your sleep. Here are some tips to help you sleep better.

Habits to avoid before bed

exposure to electronic screens, such as phones or television, before bed
ingesting caffeine late in the day
drinking too much water before bed
consuming alcohol
going to bed and waking at irregular times
long naps during the day

Habits that may improve sleep

exposing yourself to bright light during the day
exercising regularly
sleeping on a comfortable mattress and pillow
having a quiet sleeping area
doing something relaxing before bed
keeping your room at a comfortable temperature

Takeaway

There’s some evidence that red light may induce sleepiness. However, more human research is needed to back this theory.

Blue light can have a negative effect on your melatonin levels. But exposure to green and purple light could also potentially hinder your ability to fall asleep. More research is needed to fully understand their effects.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Lee S, et al. (2017). Effect of color light stimulation using LED on sleep induction time. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5443998/
Lee S, et al. (2018). Melatonin suppression and sleepiness in children exposed to blue-enriched white LED lighting at night. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6295443/
Mitsui K, et al. (2024). Effects of a violet-excitation light-emitting diode on melatonin secretion and sleepiness: Preliminary findings from a randomized controlled trial. https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.10814
Pan R, et al. (2023). Effects of red light on sleep and mood in healthy subjects and individuals with insomnia disorder. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10484593/
Shechter A, et al. (2018). Blocking nocturnal blue light for insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5703049/
Zhang Z, et al. (2016). Red light at intensities above 10 lx alters sleep-wake behavior in mice.https://www.nature.com/articles/lsa2016231

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Medically reviewed by Thomas Johnson, PA-C — Written by Daniel Yetman — Updated on October 22, 2024

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