THE TUO SCIENCE

Better Than Blue Light, Better Than High LUX — TUO Products are the Only Circadian Light Therapy That Works in Real-World Conditions

We're going to get a little bit into the science here, but we think our customers want to know how things really work.  At TUO, we believe that transparency on how and why our products work is what customers deserve.

Most Circadian Rhythm Lights on the Market are Based on Blue Light.  Some lighting products feature warm/cool color shifting throughout the day, blue-enriched, or night modes on screens. They work by activating (or not activating by removing blue color) the non-visual melanopsin in your eye sending “action potentials” to your internal clock, but melanopsin is very insensitive to light. This is because it's not a part of your vision forming system. Influencing melanopsin requires unbearably bright light levels to have any significant impact on your internal clock. 

TUO’s Circadian Healthy Lighting is New, Different, and Better.   The latest scientific research shows that our light sensitive color vision cones can send more “action potentials” to your internal clock than blue-sensitive melanopsin.  TUO’s lighting technology uniquely activates these color cones and the circadian pathway to the body clock, resulting in driving large amounts of “action potentials” and shifting your circadian rhythm easily.

The TUO Proof for Better Circadian Adjustment:

In repeated University of Washington lab testing comparing TUO light to the blue light of our competitors at normal lighting levels (about 250 lux like a normal office or home), we show that a one-time exposure to the TUO light for 50 minutes shifted the subjects circadian rhythm about 50 minutes earlier - or that they naturally wanted to wake up the next day 50 minutes earlier with their mind and body ready for the day.  As expected, the blue light at 250 lux was not effective at all - consistent with the need for blue light to be very bright to activate the melanopsin cell response.

What does this mean for the TUO light bulb?

The TUO light focuses on aspects of your biology that are sensitive to changes in the color of light, especially in the mornings.  We've nicknamed these aspects "dawn-detectors." When your body is most sensitive in the morning, needing signals from your surroundings to set your circadian clock to "daytime", the changing colors of a sunrise excite the circadian system.  The TUO light pulsates with these same signals while showing you a white looking light, and this gives your body the right signals in the morning (WAKE mode) to set your internal circadian rhythm to day.  In the evenings, after the sun goes down, your body becomes sensitive to light signals again, and it is important to not shift your circadian rhythm later. This is what makes it hard to wake up the next day.  We use a CALM Mode to balance the light's activation of the circadian systems. This creates no change in color for your circadian system, and is a truly circadian neutral light at any brightness or perceived visual color.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us!  We love talking about lights and circadian rhythms!  Please look at our FAQ as well for additional info.

Learn more about the latest circadian health news and science.