Blue light at night could cause depression-like symptoms: Study

Blue-coloured night lamps have the worst effect on one's moods while exposure to red light at night has significantly less evidence of depressive symptoms, says a new study.

New research has shown how colours of night lamps could influence moods. In a study done on hamsters, researchers found that blue light had the worst effects on mood-related measures, followed closely by white.

Hamsters exposed to red light at night had significantly less evidence of depressive symptoms and changes in the brain linked to depression, compared to those that experienced blue or white light.

The only hamsters that fared better than those exposed to red light were those that had total darkness at night, reports Science Daily.

The findings may have important implications for humans, particularly those whose work on night shifts makes them susceptible to mood disorders, said Randy Nelson, co-author of the study and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the Ohio State University.

"Our findings suggest that if we could use red light when appropriate for night-shift workers, it may not have some of the negative effects on their health that white light does," Nelson said.

The study appears in the Aug 7, 2013 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.