Light plays a crucial role in improving sleep quality, energy levels and overall health. It is is a key regulator of our internal body clock, which is an essential force next to sleep drive in getting a good night's sleep. Exposure to light at the right time of the day regulates our sleep-wake cycle, helps improve our sleep quality, as well as boosts our energy levels throughout the day.
At Ayo wearable, they experienced first-hand what adverse effect the lack of light can have on energy, mood, sleep quality and overall health. Several years ago, during studies they conducted in the Netherlands, when the short and gloomy winter days hit, the founders were having trouble waking up in the morning and being fully active during the day, as well as having issues sleeping at night. This is a common complaint I am sure most of you can relate to.
They knew about the effect of light on health and how helpful it can be in these situations. However, the available products on the market back then were too inconvenient to use as well as not smart nor personalized to include a therapy plan to follow (e.g. light therapy boxes).
Therefore, they decided to create something better – a portable, personal and intelligent solution. Their creation AYO is a blue-light emitting wearable device (most people call it “light therapy glasses”), which is also fully controlled and operated through a smartphone application.
When exposed to it at the right time of the day, the blue-turquoise light coming from AYO helps regulate your biological rhythm by suppressing the sleep hormone melatonin, making you more active and energetic in a natural way as well as helping you improve overall sleep, energy and health by keeping your body clock in balance.
The science behind AYO follows the latest developments and studies in the field of Chronobiology (the science about the human body clocks) in the past 20+ years from leading institutions worldwide. Numerous clinical studies have discovered that the turquoise range of blue light (between 450 and 495 nm) is crucial for our health as it regulates our circadian rhythm.
When exposed to it, AYO’s gentle blue light enters your eyes and stimulates cells that send signals to the brain to suppress the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Additionally, AYO's light helps fine-tune your sleep-wake rhythm by signaling your body when it is time to sleep and when is the time to be awake. This is especially beneficial during these days when most of us are staying and working from home, without getting the necessary daily exposure to sunlight.
AYO’s main effects include:
Short-term
Immediately or shortly after an AYO session, energy levels and alertness levels can be increased. This effect is due to the fact that AYO, similar to the natural sunlight, suppresses the production of melatonin in a natural way, and thus helps the body "wake up", feeling alert and energetic.
Long-term
Due to the suppression of melatonin at a specific time of the day/night cycle, your sleep/wake rhythm can be actively adjusted and adapted to your lifestyle. Here examples include:
· When traveling and you need to adapt your body clock faster to a new time zone
· When you would like to start waking up earlier or easier in the beginning of the work week
· When you are working on shifts and would like to adjust your sleep-wake cycle to your work schedule. By suppressing melatonin during the day, AYO also helps improve sleep at night since our bodies start to produce more melatonin in the evening. Using AYO for weeks or more helps you build the habit of waking up and going to bed at similar times, which has numerous benefits on energy levels, sleep and overall wellbeing!
The key to their solution is its software-driven exposure to its special blue light at proper timing and intensity. Their mobile application guides the user completely on when light exposure and avoidance is required in order to achieve the desired effect. By wearing the AYO device as little as 20-30 minutes a day:
· Snooze-lovers can find and set their natural sleep rhythm for energizing “sleep time” and more productive “wake time”.
· Sleep deprived people can get a better night’s sleep.
· Frequent travelers can beat jet lag much quicker than usual, feeling fully refreshed no matter the time zone they happen to be in.
· Workers can experience improved energy and productivity through the AYO technology, which mimics the sunlight.
· Those living in the north during winter can enjoy more energy and better mood through AYO’s mobile light therapy product, which can be used anytime, anywhere.
Sleep is crucial, and we need to get the required hours of sleep every day. There truly is no substitute for sleep. Therefore, what is important is to allow ourselves the necessary hours of sleep, as well as to be conscious on how we can improve our sleep quality and sleep hygiene. As for the latter, making sure we expose ourselves to the necessary amount of light during the day and avoiding noise and light pollution during the night plays a detrimental role in the quality of our sleep. Nowadays, our lifestyle and way of living is very different from our ancestors – we spend too much time indoors (e.g. working from an office) without direct access to light, especially during the short and gloomy winter days.
Furthermore, at these extraordinary circumstances driven by COVID-19, when many are confined at home working remotely and, as a result, not having the possibility to get natural sunlight - energy levels, mood, sleep quality and overall health are being negatively impacted. Using AYO resets the body clock, which helps maintain healthy energy levels during the day and good sleep at night.
The AYO mission is to help as many people as possible lead healthier, happier and more active lives with our technology. Interested in using this therapy to help reset your clock? We are working with them to bring this tool to you at a discounted price.