Relationships Between Light Exposure and Aspects of Cognitive Function in Everyday Life

Abstract

Light exposure can modulate cognitive function, yet its effects outside of controlled laboratory settings remain insufficiently explored. To examine the relationship between real-world light exposure and cognitive performance, we assessed personal light exposure and measured subjective sleepiness, vigilance, working memory, and visual search performance over 7 days of daily life, in a convenience sample of UK adults (n = 58) without significant circadian challenge (shiftwork or jet-lag). A subset of participants (n = 41) attended an in-lab session comprising a battery of pupillometric and psychophysical tests aimed to quantify melanopsin-driven visual responses. We find significant associations between recent light exposure and subjective sleepiness. Recent light exposure was also associated with reaction times for both psychomotor vigilance and working memory tasks. In addition, higher daytime light exposure and an exposure pattern with reduced fragmentation were linked to improved cognitive performance across visual search, psychomotor vigilance, and working memory tasks. Higher daytime light exposure and earlier estimated bedtimes were associated with stronger relationships between recent light exposure and subjective sleepiness. These results provide real world support for the notion that intra- and inter-individual differences in light exposure meaningfully influence aspects of cognition, with beneficial effects of short-term bright light and of habitual light exposure patterns characterized by brighter daytimes, earlier rest phase, and greater intra- and inter-daily stability.