From about 8 weeks of age, our bodies have a best time for just about everything
Which is why having a strong circadian clock is important for overall health and wellness. The problem for children and adults is that modern society is wreaking havoc on our natural rhythms. We’re indoors more than 93% of our lives removed from this natural time cue, and that weakens our circadian rhythm.
Our electric lights have no element of time, thus allowing us to eat, drink, and be merry with electronics use around the clock. Unknowingly, we’ve created a misalignment between when our body thinks it’s time to wake up and when our alarm clock says it’s time to wake up resulting in a form of disrupted physiology and sleep known as social jet lag. Effects range from insomnia to groggy waking, to low energy, brain fog, or even depression. And many kids are experiencing it.
Clinical pediatric studies1 show that about 37.2% of a sample (N=497) K-4th grade children have at least one parent-defined sleep challenge, with 15.1% showing bedtime resistance, 6.7% waking up at night, and 11.8% displaying daytime sleepiness. Despite the mounting evidence that chronic sleep deprivation, and poor sleep transitions affect health and academic performance, the nonpharmacological, parent-monitored interventions generally relate to “keep your child on a schedule” with only tangential consideration of circadian rhythm timing.
School-night Sleep Routines are Particularly Vulnerable to Circadian Misalignment
The morning is a beautiful, peaceful time, unless you are a parent trying to get social jetlag children up in time for school. And yet, there is a powerful, accessible way to combat the circadian misalignment you and your family struggle with daily. Neuroscience and clinical research strongly suggest that by bringing the right spectra of sun and sky light into your home at the right times of the 24-hour day, your body clocks and social clocks can be realigned. The prediction would be kids who are easier to wake, have more energy and focus in the morning so the task of being a parent is at least a little easier. So naturally as parents ourselves, we wanted to test that.
Using SkyView™ Light to Improve Circadian Health: A School Children’s Field Study
We initially developed and tested SkyView™ circadian lighting for increased mood, sleep, focus, and productivity in office environments2,3 and demonstrated powerful effects. Although the basic technology has been used in diverse applications from neonatal ICU to the International Space Station, we wanted to target a widely experienced situation: children who were having difficulty waking in the morning on school days.
Study Design
We recruited 50 elementary-school aged children whose parents determined that they have trouble waking up in the morning, (i.e. their bodies were not ready to wake up yet).
Parents received a SkyView™ 2 lamp for each child with video instructions on best use cases.
Lamps were placed in the child’s bedroom and the lighting scheduled to revolve around the time they need to wake up.
Parents used SkyView™ for 4 weeks, filling out periodic surveys to record any changes in their children’s morning and night behavior. Survey questions centered around improvements in:
- waking up more easily in the morning on school days;
- their mood in the morning on school days;
- being more ready for bed at their scheduled bed time.
What We Saw was Nothing Short of Outstanding
After just one week, we saw 85% of parents reporting their child had a noticeably easier time waking up in the morning. 95% were reporting their child in a noticeably better mood in the morning, and 90% of parents were reporting their child was noticeably more ready for bed at their designated bed time. At the end of three weeks, we saw these numbers jumped to 95% of parents reporting easier wakeups, 100% reporting better moods, and 92% reporting more ready for sleep.
Some Direct Observations from Parents
On 92% of kids are waking up easier
“He gets up in a good mood, ready for the day. He even gets dressed before he comes downstairs most mornings, which is a win for me!” – Jake B.
“Since we started using SkyView™, my child opens the curtains and says good morning world. He is happy and motivated to head to school.” – Heather S.
“Kody used to be miserable in the morning and it was difficult to get him out of bed. Ever since we got the SkyView™, Kody gets out of bed so much faster, is in a better mood, and even eats breakfast some mornings.” – Kate K.
On 100% of parents report their child has improved morning mood
“Vicky would wake up in a bad mood (tired and grumpy) 90% of school mornings prior to having the light in her bedroom. That number has fallen dramatically as we’ve seen a definite improvement in how she’s able to approach the morning with a positive attitude when she wakes up.” – Katia M.
“Kody is in such a good mood in the mornings that he is not only happier but more energized. There have been more days than I can count that he’s gone outside to play basketball before school.” – Kate K.
On 92% parents report their child is ready for sleep
“She is ready to go to bed, whereas before bedtime was much more of a fight. She tells me she is tired and will even choose to put herself to bed.” – Kelly P.
“Since we started using SkyView™ my child winds down more easily at night. If I need to remind him it is getting late he says okay, rolls over and falls asleep quickly.” – Heather S.
“The Skyview is a gentle reminder that it is time for sleeping. My daughter used to get out of bed after the first sleep cycle and want to be put back to sleep, but now she is staying in her room the majority of nights and able to fall back asleep on her own.” – Francie H.
Benefits for Families Beyond Sleep
While the direct sleep and mood improvements were striking and broadly observed, many parents noticed additional beneficial changes to family dynamics.
Multiple parents reported their family is working better together:
“The difference in Vicky’s mood is truly unbelievable. That has honestly changed the entire family dynamic.” – Katia M.
“Kody is definitely a more pleasant person in the morning and he feels that way too. His brother shares a room and also likes the light. Kody never had a difficult time going to sleep normally, but his brother says he has been falling asleep easier since it arrived.” –Kate K.
“We’ve definitely noticed improved mood, improved energy and general willingness to be helpful with tasks and chores so we can get out of the door on time. He’s had a challenging schedule this last month with academic decathlon and championship swim meets but we genuinely believe he navigated those events better because he was getting a good nights sleep and falling asleep much easier.” – Hendrix I.
Multiple parents reported better focus on homework:
“I’ve noticed my son focusing better when he’s doing homework next to the SkyView™” – Seth N.
“SkyView™ is an overall game changer, for the family. I struggle in the morning too and asked to borrow it for a day, and the kids said ”NO”” – Kate K.
”I’ve done some work myself near the light and have noticed that I’m able to focus more clearly on my work.” – Gretchen G.
Multiple parents reported their child stays in their own bed all night:
“My daughter would not sleep in her own bed before SkyView™. Now she’s sleeping better than ever.” – Emmerson Z.
“She likes the light in her room and prefers to keep it on. She is ready to go to bed, whereas before bedtime was much more of a fight. She tells me she is tired and will even choose to put herself to bed.” – Kelly P.
“The SkyView™ is a gentle reminder that it is time for sleeping. My daughter used to get out of bed after the first sleep cycle and want to be put back to sleep, but now she is staying in her room the majority of nights and able to fall back asleep on her own.” – Francie H.
Conclusions
This study represents one benefit of synchronizing our body time with our social time. SkyView™ was designed to solve the issues caused by a misalignment of body time and social time, whether you’re an astronaut, office worker, parent or kindergartner. This study demonstrates that SkyView™ can help children who have trouble waking up in the morning and their families. Family dynamics can be complex but it seems smoother running morning and night routines occur with strengthened circadian alignment using SkyView™, like the rising of the sun, an important cue to our bodies to begin our days.
References
1. Owens et al. 2000. Sleep habits and sleep disturbance in elementary school-aged children. Dev. Behav. Ped. 21(1):27-34.
2. Grant et al. 2023. Supplementation of ambient lighting with a task lamp improves daytime alertness and cognitive performance in sleep-restricted individuals. Sleep, 46:1-10.
3. SKYVIEW 2023. Business at the speed of (circadian) light: A F500 Company Productivity Study. BIOS.
