Affiliation:
1. School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Abstract
Visual fatigue has become a public health issue, while the relevant retinal mechanism and characteristics of blue light that induce visual fatigue have been rarely studied. In the retina, both short wavelength-sensitive (S) cones and melanopsin-containing intrinsically photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are sensitive to blue light, and their responses are opposite in pupil mediation. Thus, effects of blue-enriched white light with different S-cone-opic Equivalent Daylight Illuminance (EDI) on visual fatigue was investigated, maintaining the same melanopic EDI to avoid interferences of melanopsin-containing ipRGCs. Two white illuminants (one with low S-cone-opic EDI, the other with high S-cone-opic EDI) were characterized based on α-opic EDI with the same correlated colour temperature and illuminance. Melanopic EDI was lower than S-cone-opic EDI of these two illuminants. Psychological, visual, physiological and cognitive performances were measured to investigate visual fatigue. Results showed that blue-enriched white light with high S-cone-opic EDI can induce visual fatigue. Participants felt more discomfort in their eyes under high S-cone-opic EDI along with the decline of tear film stability and changes of heart rhythm. Furthermore, the reaction time in a memory task increased significantly under high S-cone-opic EDI. The findings provide new insights into the optimization of indoor lighting environments for human health.
Funder
National Key Research and Development Program of China
Basic Research Program of Jiangsu Province
Subject
Electrical and Electronic Engineering