Drivers one day could take 30-minute "baths" in blue light at truck stops and gas stations to prevent them falling asleep at the wheel.
That's one suggestion from Mariana Figueiro and colleagues at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., who have put together a bid for research funding to investigate using light to reset drivers' body clocks.
Light is known to affect our body's internal clock, and short wavelengths have the strongest effect. So Figueiro's team wants to investigate how blue LED light affects daytime alertness in sleep-deprived people.
Another idea is that cars and truck cabs could be fitted with blue LEDs, so Figueiro plans to use a driving simulator to see which combination of light frequencies and intensities works best, while not obscuring the view of the road.
