Your eyes see light.
Your body reads time.

Melatonin is the key signal here.

Gooley and colleagues analyzed 116 healthy adults aged 18–30. Under laboratory conditions, exposure to room light below 200 lux, compared with dim light below 3 lux, delayed melatonin onset in 99% of participants. Melatonin production lasted about 90 minutes less. This measured a hormonal response, not 90 minutes of lost sleep. Gooley et al., 2011 ↗

Is overhead lighting itself the problem?

Fixture position alone cannot tell you a light’s effect. Exposure at the eye, spectrum, timing and duration all matter. A bright floor lamp can still produce substantial evening exposure. Brown et al., 2022 ↗

What experts recommend.

A 2022 consensus recommends lower light exposure for at least three hours before bed and a dark sleep environment for healthy adults. Its targets use melanopic EDI, a measure of light’s melanopsin-weighted effect at the eye—not a lamp’s brightness percentage. Read the consensus ↗

Where Lolly fits.

Lolly puts a softer evening within reach, with adjustable brightness, warm colors, and a glow designed for the floor. Switch off bright overhead fixtures and use Lolly at a low, warm setting to light only the area you need. Reducing the light reaching your eyes in the evening helps create the conditions for your natural nighttime melatonin signal. Keep brightness low and turn off unnecessary lights when it is time to sleep.