Looking for the best colors for sleep? You want a light that will make you sleepy and promote relaxation and melatonin production.
I’ve done the hard work of testing and sorting through every light on the market to find the best ones for you!
In this short guide, we’ll go over precisely which colors you want to use, when you should use them, and which ones are best to buy for your home.
Which Colors are Best for Sleep?
What we want in our sleep lighting is low amounts of blue and green light, and higher amounts of yellow, orange, and red.
This is because both blue and green light falls squarely within the melanopic bell curve.
Inside of your eyes is a special cell called an ipRGC or intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell. These cells detect the blue-green light seen above and tell the body that it’s daytime and to stop producing melatonin.
This can of course have drastic consequences on our sleep quality, such as insomnia.
So it’s very important that we chose lighting colors that are warm.
Yellow Light
Yellow light is usually anything between 2000-2200K and is reminiscent of the fading sun in the evening hours of the day. This color is very calming and slightly warmer than incandescent light.
As you can see, there’s still a little bit of blue and green light being emitted from a warm yellow light.
Who should use yellow light?
If you don’t have any health problems, sleep pretty well already, or just want “normal” looking light, a warm yellow color is a good choice.
While these lights contain some blue and green, our recommendations are dim enough that it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Pros
Cons
Amber or Orange Light
Amber light is usually anything between 1600-1700K and is a very relaxing warm orange light that gives off a hue similar to the light from a fire. Amber is a good all-around color for most people.
As you can see, amber light still emits some green light. It’s the lack of blue light that gives this color its warmer hue.
Who should use amber light?
Amber light is the best all-rounder color for sleep and relaxation.
If you have sleeping problems, or trouble relaxing at night, but aren’t ready to pull the trigger on a pure red light, amber is the way to go!
Pros
Cons
Red Light
Red light is about 1000K and contains no blue or green light at all. Its color is quite unique and doesn’t activate the circadian system whatsoever.
As you can see, there’s some green light still being emitted from a warm yellow light. The lack of blue light gives this color its warmer hue.
Who should use red light?
Red light is the best color for anyone with sleep disorders like insomnia since it doesn’t contain any melanopic light.
This is also the best light for the biohackers and health nuts out there looking to fully optimize their sleep quality.
Red light is also very useful if you have to get up and see in the middle of the night and want to retain your night vision afterwards.
Pros
Cons
The Best Lights for Sleeping
We’ve tested tons of light bulbs here at Optimize Your Biology, so the lights below are currently, to our knowledge, the best choices on the market for their respective categories.
Check out our Light Bulb Database to explore more on your own!
The Best Red Lights
We’ve reviewed all the best red led lights on the market and we’ve come to the conclusion that Hooga makes the best flicker-free red LEDs.
Hooga 1W Red Light Bulb
These are the bulbs we use in our bedroom and bathroom late at night. They give off a perfect, dim red glow.
- 40 lumens
- 1000K
- 1w
- A15
Coupon code: OPTIMIZE12 for 12% off
Hooga 7W Red Light Bulb
The 7W is great for filling up larger rooms with a warm red glow at night.
- 180 lumens
- 1000K
- 7w
- A19
Coupon code: OPTIMIZE12 for 12% off
The Best Amber Lights
We’ve selected three different options here at various wattage levels so you can find the right one for you. These are the best of the best!
Hooga 1W Amber Light Bulb
If you’re looking for a dim flicker-free amber light that’s melatonin friendly but still has good color rendering, this is it!
- 80 lumens
- 1650K
- 1w
- A15
Coupon code: OPTIMIZE12 for 12% off
Koze 3.5W Amber Light Bulb
This amber light from Koze has just a bit more lumens to it, making it a great option for reading and chores after dark.
- 300 lumens
- 1600K
- 3.5w
- A15
Harth 7W Amber Light Bulb
This is the amber bulb to buy if you need to light up a large room at night with melatonin-friendly light, but need to still make out which colors are which.
- 600 lumens
- 1600K
- 7w
- A19
The Best Yellow Lights
Only a couple of options here for now, but who needs a lot to choose from anyways?
Lighting Science 4.5W Light Bulb
This is a phenomenal light with great color rendering, low flicker, and low blue light output.
A good choice for anyone who needs to see well but doesn’t want to skimp out on color quality.
- 275 lumens
- 2050K
- 4.5w
- A15
Bedtime Bulb 4W Light Bulb
The highest blue light bulb on our list. This light bulb has an impressive 95+ CRI, a low lumen output, and relatively low blue light.
If you’re looking for a “normal” looking light, that’s still melatonin friendly, this is as good as it gets!
You will need an adapter to get this one to fit into a normal E26 light socket. While there is a larger Bedtime bulb available, I’m not a fan of how bright it is.
- 250 lumens
- 2300K
- 4w
- B10
What’s the Best Color Light to Sleep With?
If you absolutely must sleep with a light on it should be a dim red light. The thing is, red light can still excite the nervous system, even though it doesn’t directly impact the circadian clock or melatonin production.
In this study, researchers subjected 14 participants to 10 or 40 lux of the blue or red LED light.
It was noted that 40 lux of red light increased alertness via alpha brain waves and heart rate increased as well.
This may not be a concern for many, but if you have trouble sleeping, you’ll want to be careful to avoid things that can induce alertness at night, even red light!
When Should You Use These Lights?
I recommend turning on your sleep lights about two to three hours before your bedtime.
So if you want to be asleep by 10, turn on your dim warm lighting at around 7 or 8. This will help you wind down and produce the melatonin you need for a good night’s sleep.
Conclusion
Grab yourself a few lights form the above recommendations, they’re the best out there! And start using them a couple of hours before bed, if you aren’t already doing this, I promise the improvement in the quality of your sleep and the following day will be worth it!
