The Ultimate Guide To Using Light To Biohack Your Circadian Rhythms, Sleep Better & Beat Jet Lag Forever.

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Articles, Sleep
If you would have happened to have sat next to me on an airplane recently, or observed me at my breakfast table, or caught me on a cloudless, gray day…

…you would have found me wearing a set of light-emitting earbuds that look just like a small set of headphones.

As a way to reduce jet lag, shift my circadian rhythm forwards or backwards for sleep enhancement, and increase my mood in the absence of sun, I've been experimenting with biohacking my circadian rhythm using a tiny stream of light to directly target the photoreceptors in my brain through both my ears.

In this post, you're going to learn exactly how you can utilize this technique yourself using a device called a “HumanCharger“. Enjoy.

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What Is Light, Exactly?

OK, you may think you know what light is, but to really understand the rest of this article and to get the most out of your light biohacking experience, let's make sure you have a nerdy, propellor-hat understanding of light, shall we?

Light is electromagnetic radiation that specifically falls within a certain part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The word “light” usually refers to visible light, meaning light that is visible to your eye and is responsible for your sense of sight. Visible light is specifically defined as light that has a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm), which falls just between infrared light (which is light with longer wavelengths) and ultraviolet light (which is light with shorter wavelengths).

So for the purposes of this article, when I say “light”, I'm referring to visible light. If you feel grumpy that you don't get to learn about infrared light today, then fear not. I have a monster post coming soon that fills you in on that topic.

The main source of light on earth is, you guessed it, the sun. Sunlight provides the energy that green plants use to create starches, which then release energy into the living things that digest those starches. This process of photosynthesis provides just about all the energy used by life on earth.

Another important source of light for humans is fire, which includes everything from ancient campfires to modern kerosene lamps. Of course, with the development of electric lights and power, electric lighting has pretty much replaced most firelight.

Some species of animals generate their own light, called bioluminescence. For example, fireflies use light to locate mates, and vampire squids use light to hide themselves from prey.

The specific properties of light are generally measured in terms of intensity, propagation, direction, frequency or wavelength, and polarization. The speed of light, measured in a vacuum, is 299,792,458 meters per second, and is one of the fundamental constants of nature. Visible light, as with all types of electromagnetic radiation (EMR), is experimentally found to always move at this speed in vacuum.

Hope you remember all that. There may be a test later. 

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Another Thing You Need To Know: The Circadian Rhythm

Just as crucial as your understanding of light is going to be your understanding of the circadian rhythm. 

Circadian rhythms are physiologic and behavioral cycles with a recurring periodicity of approximately 24 hours, generated by an endogenous biological pacemaker called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is located in the anterior hypothalamus in brain. These circadian rhythms control a huge variety of biological processes, such as sleep- wake cycle, body temperature, feeding, hormone secretion, glucose homeostasis, and cell-cycle regulation.

The timing of these physiologic rhythms can become altered, leading to changes in the phase relationship of rhythms to each other, which can cause internal desynchronization. Sometimes this desynchronization manifests as jet lag, sometimes as insomnia, sometimes as waking up extremely freaking early even though all you really want to do is just sleep in a little bit. As you may have experienced at some point in your life, a loss of coordination of these rhythms can have negative consequences on your productivity, your appetite, your happiness, you social interactions, your workouts, your focus, your immune system and many other physiologic and behavioral functions.

So ultimately, the less desynchronized your circadian rhythms are, the better your life. This is mostly related to a big disruption in the production of monoamines and hormones that affect your sleep-wake cycle and wellbeing, such as melatonin, serotonin, dopamine, noradrenalin, leptin, ghrelin, etc.

Via a process called “circadian entrainment”, circadian rhythms are synchronized with the earth’s rotation by daily adjustments in the timing of the SCN (remember, that's the part of your brain I mentioned earlier), and the circadian rhythms generally follow the exposure to stimuli that signal the time of day. These stimuli are known as zeitgebers (German for ‘‘time-givers’’), and while zeitgebers can include everything from the time of day that you exercise, to when you eat breakfast…

…light is the most important and potent stimulus for circadian entrainment.

The magnitude and direction of any changes in circadian rhythms directly depends on when within the circadian rhythm that a light pulse is presented to either your eyes, or your skin, or anywhere else on your body that light photoreceptors are located. You can actually plot phase changes in circadian rhythm according to the time of light stimulus presentation, and this plot provides what sleep scientists call a “phase response curve”.

For example, exposure to light in the morning and exposure to darkness at night results in a phase response curve that can shift your circadian rhythm backwards and make you sleepy at a more appropriate time in the evening, while exposure to light in the evening or non-exposure to light in the morning can slightly shift your circadian rhythm forwards and cause you to stay awake longer and possibly sleep in longer in the morning, although sleeping in longer in the morning usually requires more of an absence of morning light than a presence of evening light.

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What Happens When Your Circadian Rhythm Gets Messed Up

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSDs) is the term given to patterns of sleep-wake rhythm disturbances. CRSDs result from a misalignment between the timing of the circadian rhythm and the external environment (e.g. jet lag, shift work, watching loud and bright TV at night, etc.) or a dysfunction of the circadian clock and its afferent and efferent pathways (e.g. delayed sleep-phase, advanced sleep-phase, non-24-hour, and irregular sleep-wake rhythm disorders, such as might occur with obstructive sleep apnea, parasites, nighttime hypoglycemia, etc.).

The most common symptoms of these disorders are difficulties with sleep onset or sleep maintenance, and excessive sleepiness that is commonly associated with impaired social and occupational functioning.

Effective treatment for most CRSDs requires a multimodal approach to accelerate circadian realignment with exposure to appropriate amounts of light at specific times of day, avoidance of bright light at inappropriate times, adherence to scheduled sleep and wake times and some of the other strategies Dr. Joe Zelk discusses in this article and this podcast.

If you want more nitty gritty details, you can download Circadian Rhythm Abnormalities (.pdf download). I also talk quite a bit about circadian rhythms in the article “5 Biohacks To Beat Insomnia, Sleep Better On Airplanes & Shut Down Stress”.

OK, let's sum up where we are at this point:

You now understand now that light is the single strongest signal that keeps your biological clock synchronized.

You understand that if you don’t get enough light during the day or you get it at the wrong time of the day, e.g. during shift-work or travel induced jet lag, your biological clock can go out of sync, and the production of neurotransmitters and hormones that affect your sleep-wake cycle and wellbeing.

And you understand that this can have a negative effect on how you feel and function during the day and how you sleep during the night.

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You've Got Light Receptors All Over Your Brain

The information your body gets about existence or absence of light is received via light-sensitive receptor proteins in the eye's retina. These proteins are called opsins. Opsins convert the photonic energy of light into electrical potential in neurons, and project signals from light to the brain's biological clock, as well as to other brain areas. This then increases neurotransmitter signalling and influences hormone production.

But here's what most people don't know: light-sensitive receptors are not only found in the retina, but also in many locations in the brain, such as the cerebrum and the hypothalamus. I came across this in an independent, up-to-date inventory of human proteins, including the light sensitive proteins in brain tissue that is maintained by the international Human Protein Atlas project, managed by Uppsala University of Sweden, and funded by the Knut & Alice Wallenberg foundation.

In several recent studies, light sensitive receptors have been found in many locations in the human and animal brain, receptors that are shockingly  completely separate from the retina. For example in one study, human post-mortem brain and peripheral tissue was analysed for the presence of two of the most relevant opsins, melanopsin and encephalopsin, that are sensitive to visible light. Results showed the presence of these opsins at 18 different sites of the human brain and peripheral tissue, indicating light-sensitivity in the brain itself.

In another study, 50 healthy people were randomly divided into two groups, one of which one received 12 minutes of gentle light exposure in their ears via earbuds very much like headphones, and another group that received no light (e.g. lightless earbuds). During the light exposure in the ear, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan of each group's brain activity was conducted.

The intriguing results showed a significantly increased activation of the visual and sensory-motor areas of the brain in the group that had received light in their ears, compared to zero activation in the placebo control group. This means that there is a photosensitivity of the brain that is completely independent from the eyes. Based on this result, the idea emerged that a disorder like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is already treated with bright light therapy like desktop blue light boxes, could just as easily be treated by directing small and portable amounts of light directly to the brain, through the ears.

This all makes sense, since SAD is primarily caused by seasonal lack of exposure to sufficient light. It is characterized by all the usual symptoms of depression, and also an increased need for sleep, annoying fatigue, craving for carbohydrates and weight gain, especially during darker winter months or times of gray, sunless rain.

The earliest bright light headset clinical studies investigated whether transcranial light via the ear could reduce depression symptoms in people suffering from SAD. In the first of these pilot studies, 13 SAD patients were subjected to a daily dose of 8-12 minutes of transcranial bright light therapy into their ears for four weeks. Their depression and anxiety symptoms were measured using standard questionnaires like the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, both prior to the 4 week trial and afterwards.

When researchers compared the depression and anxiety score before treatment and after the fourth week, the results showed a significant reduction in reported symptoms on all three measures. These findings suggest that transcranial bright light therapy could be an alternative to traditional light therapy.

Then, in a second, larger four week trial, 89 patients suffering from SAD were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups and received either a low, medium, or high dose of daily bright light in their ear for a total of 12 minutes each morning. Depressive symptoms and cognitive performance were again assessed using standard psychiatric instruments at the beginning, during, and at the end of the trial. Results showed a significant reduction of depression symptoms in 74-79% of the patients in all three treatment groups as well as a significant improvement of cognitive performance compared to baseline. The result was comparable with any traditional bright light lamp and blue light boxing studies conducted over the past two decades, and suggest that light shone into the ear can alleviate depression symptoms in SAD patients, and can also increase cognitive performance.

And that's all without you having to stare at a giant blue light box emitting light placed in your bedroom or on your desk, which is the standard treatment for SAD, and even something I've personally recommended in the past as a way to align your circadian rhythm, such as in my Red Light and Blue Light Biohacking Tips podcast.

So it turns out that your ear canal is actually a very convenient passageway for light to reach photosensitive brain areas. This is because the light only needs to travel a short distance to reach for instance the light sensitive receptors in cerebrum. Light can literally passes through the translucent eardrum and the thin bone structures in your ear, and then immediately activate relevant neural networks of your brain.

That's right: your freaking ear can sense light. 

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Enter The Human Charger

A company called “Valkee“, based out of Finland, spearheaded much of the research you just read about on the ear's ability to detect light, and they've specifically investigated how light shining directly into your ears can do things like treat jet lag and SAD, assist with morning wakefulness, and shift circadian rhythms forwards or backwards.

Motivated to fight through the long, dark winters of their home in northern Finland, scientist Juuso Nissila and engineer Antti Aunio launched Valkee in 2007. In 2010, they developed a bright light headset-based medical device designed specifically to prevent and treat SAD. This is the same in-ear device used in the studies cited above.

Although the Valkee ear light device was initially developed for the treatment of SAD, the logical next step in the development of this technology for medical uses was to show that it could improve your wellbeing, increase cognitive performance, decrease anxiety, or be used to biohack circadian rhythms and address jet lag, rather than just treating SAD.

So Juuso and Antti designed a study to investigate whether an in-ear light headset could reduce moderate anxiety symptoms, even in the absence of SAD. Anxiety is associated with SAD, and other studies on SAD have already given insight into potential benefits of transcranial light for treating anxiety. So Valkee ran a small-scale, randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind trial on acute treatment of anxiety with 28 participants randomized into two groups.

In November 2013, the results were presented in The International Forum on Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Monaco, and showed that when comparing pre and post light exposure, anxiety symptoms were significantly reduced in the ear light treatment group, with zero significant change in anxiety symptoms in the placebo group. This study was the world's first fully double-blind, placebo-controlled study with any bright light device, including bright light lamps or blue light boxes (these kind of devices obviously can't be tested without the participant knowing whether the light is on or off).

But human well-being is not only about treating disorders, or about the absence of disease, right?

It also includes physical and cognitive performance, and the ability to perform at optimal levels even when you're already feeling fine. So Juuso and Antti decided to investigate whether transcranial bright light treatment would be able to improve aspects of cognitive performance such as psychomotor speed in elite pro ice hockey players.

In this study, a series of psychomotor speed tests, including mean reaction time and motor time (using audio and visual signals) were administered to the Finnish National Ice Hockey League team before and after 24 days of transcranial bright light or sham treatment. The treatments were given during seasonal darkness in the Oulu region of Finland, when the strain on the players was also very high (10 matches during 24 days).

A daily 12 minute dose of bright light or sham treatment was given every morning between 8am and 12pm to the hockey players, at home with the Valkee transcranial (in-ear) bright light device. Not surprisingly, Juuso and Antti found that psychomotor speed, particularly motor time with a visual warning signal, significantly improved after the series of 12 minute long bright light treatment in the eras of professional ice-hockey players during the competition season in the dark time of the year.

valkee3

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What Can Light In Your Ears Do For Jet Lag?

But let's say you're not a professional hockey player, and you also don't struggle with depression or seasonal affective disorder.

I'm guessing you're still going to be a bit intrigued by the sleep and jet lag component of using in-ear light.

As you probably know, rapid travel in an airplane over several time zones usually results in something that scientists call “passing de-synchronization”, but that we normal folks call “jet lag”. It arises due to a sudden significant difference between environmental time and the biological clock of the traveller.

Symptoms of jet lag include sleep disturbances, drowsiness during the day, reduced alertness, poor overall performance, cognitive deficits, fatigue, irritation, anxiety, depression, and gastrointestinal dysfunction. The severity of jet lag symptoms depends on the number of time zones crossed, the direction of travel, the time of day of the flight, and possibly even the time of year, as well as individual parameters such as age, chronotype, and physical health. Jet lag symptoms tend to dissipate as your internal biological clock gradually shifts toward the time of your new time zone.

But this adaptation takes time – on average one full hour of time zone difference per day spent in the new time zone. So this means if you fly across three time zones it takes you a full three days to fully adapt. And if you fly across the Atlantic or Pacific, it could be 7-10 days for you to fully adapt.

There are only a few random studies that have explored light as a countermeasure to treat the symptoms of jet lag. These studies have shown a modest circadian rhythm entraining effect and increased sleep effectiveness, but show absolutely no effect on regaining performance or a decrease in actual jet lag symptoms.

So Valkee set about organizing a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind jet lag field study of 55 trans-Atlantic travelers, specifically to investigate whether intermittent light exposure from a headset's ear buds could significantly alleviate jet lag.

Study participants were randomly divided into a light treatment group and a placebo group. The participants travelled by plane from Finland to North America and back, and to allow their internal clock to adjust to North American time. spent at least one week on the ground in North America before their flight back.

During the treatment period immediately after returning to Finland, participants received bright light or placebo headset treatment four times a day at pre-determined times. Jet lag symptoms were measured using several well-established metrics likethe  Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, Horne-Östberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scale, State Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Profile of Mood State score (who names these things?). These are the same scales used in all seven light-based jet lag field studies that have been published in the last 15 years.

So what happened?

In the bright light treatment group, the jet lag symptoms decreased significantly faster than in the placebo group. None of the 55 subjects in the present study reported any adverse effects as a result of the light treatment. As a matter of fact, the bright light group participants’ recovery back to their baseline condition, measured before the flight, took on average only half as long compared with the placebo group.

This is the first ever randomized, placebo-controlled and double-blinded light therapy study on alleviation of jet lag symptoms, and the results indicate that transcranial bright light given through ear canals decreases symptoms of jet lag.

valkee5

The results of the new study were published in the April 2015 issue of Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance. The peer-reviewed monthly journal published by the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) is the most used and cited journal in its field and distributed to more than 80 nations.

Based on the study results and other required qualifications, in April of 2015 Valkee's in-ear light device, quite appropriately called “The HumanCharger“, was granted the EU medical device CE-certification under Council Directive 92/43/EEC, expanding the Company’s existing EU medical device certification for treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

The device (pictured below, right) is a tiny, pocked-sized headset about the size of a small .mp3 player, with accompanying earbuds that are exactly the size of regular audio earbuds, but that produce a beam of light rather than producing sound.

valkee1Think about it this way: there are only three proven treatments for jet-lag that have been systematically explored under laboratory and field conditions:

1) exposure to bright light;

2) melatonin supplements;

3) pharmacological agents – that is, medication.

Of all these three options, only bright light exposure has none of the side effects or risks known to be associated with the use of melatonin or pharmacological agents used to treat and avoid jet lag symptoms.

Since April, Valkee has continued pioneering research to reduce jet lag, enhance sleep, and help people feel better, with a goal to enhance cognitive performance while decreasing the need for anti-depressants or other medicines. 

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My Experience With The HumanCharger

In May, I got my hands on my own HumanCharger (Valkee sent me a trial unit). Although the model also comes in silver, mine is a sleek little black device, about 1/4 the size of my cell phone and 1/2 as thick. 

The last time I messed around much with biohacking light was when I wrote an article on blue-light blocking called “The Ultimate Visual Biohack – How To Create Your Own Set Of Custom Vision, Performance & Sleep Enhancing Glasses.

But ear light exposure has been a whole new experience for me.

Here's how it works:

1) You put the earbuds in your ears.

2) You push the one, single button in the middle of the device.

3) The lights automatically turn on, shine for a total of 12 minutes, then turn off.

That's it.

I don't feel a thing in terms of actual warmth or sensation, although I immediately feel a slight surge of alertness when I turn on the device and during the entire 12 minutes that the protocol is running. This is the same sensation I feel if I step outside into the sun, or suddenly switch on a light in a dark bedroom. It is kind of a weird feeling, since you never really think of the inside of your ears as being able to “see” light.

So how have I been using my HumanCharger?

First, exactly according to the instructions from Valkee, for the 1-3 days before I travel from East to West across multiple time zones, I do 12 minutes of the light protocol when it's morning where I'm going. So if I want to be wakeful at, say, 7am in the West, I'll use the light at 10am in the East.

Then, when I'm in the West, I simply blast the light in my ears for 12 minutes either when I wake up or while I'm sitting drinking coffee and checking my emails.

So far, with this technique, I've used the HumanCharger for three separate trips and experienced absolutely zero jet lag on any of the trips. My only regret leading up to writing this article is that I have not yet had a chance to use the HumanCharger for an international flight, but I have a whole slew of international travels coming up this fall during which I plan on using it to avoid all the grogginess, food cravings, and decrease in cognitive performance that happens when crossing a significant number of time zones.

Next, I've had two races for which I've had to wake up 1-2 hours before my normal waking time. In both instances, I've instantly eliminated the normal grogginess from getting up earlier than usual by simply using the HumanCharger as soon as I wake up in the morning.

Next, on two separate occasions, I've taken out the HumanCharger on a sunless day and used it just after lunch, when afternoon sleepiness and mild amounts of seasonal affective disorder would normally set in. Both times, it's completely eliminated the need for a nap, and although it could certainly be a placebo effect, seems to lift my mood, focus and cognitive performance as well.

I've also had several times since getting my HumanCharger that I've gotten into a pattern of waking up at about 5:30AM, when I'd rather sleep until 6:30AM. Each time, I've pulled myself out of that pattern by getting up at 5:30AM, avoiding any sun exposure, then at 6:30AM (the time I'd rather be waking up), putting myself through the HumanCharger protocol. So in this way, I can shift my circadian rhythm forwards, or backwards.

Finally, although I haven't yet had the opportunity to use it for this purpose, the HumanCharger could be used when you've traveled to, say, the West. Let's say you have a party, a dinner, a social event, a conference, a speech, a meeting, etc. at 7pm, which for you, if you come from the East, would be, say, 10pm. You could use the Human Charger beforehand for a quick blast of energy as an alternative to caffeine or some other stimulant. However, I've actually avoided using it in a situation like this, since I don't really want to shift my circadian rhythm too far forward in the evening. I just like my sleep too much.

Oh yeah, one other thing…there's an app too.

In case my description and instructions were too vague, the HumanCharger App basically tells you the exact best times for your 12 minutes bursts of ear light, based on your origin and destination time zone, including the option for getting these instructions via push notifications. It integrates with travel sites like TripIt, so you don’t need to enter again the details of any of your trips. This means the app can grab your flights from TripIt and tell you exactly when to use your charger. It also has a nifty time zone difference visualizer on it. You can get the app here.

I've also negotiated a 20% discount for you! Use code “BFITNESS” at The HumanCharger. 

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Summary

Suffer from anxiety or seasonal affective disorder?

Travel frequently and struggle with jeg lag?

Confused trying to figure out how to shift your circadian rhythm forward or backward?

Need a non-pharmaceutical, non-medicinal, non-supplement alternative to caffeine or energy drinks?

I recommend you try treating your ears with light for 12 minutes using The HumanCharger. The instructions that come with it are easy to understand, and it's light, portable, travels anywhere, and is far less awkward at coffeeshops than lugging around a giant blue light box to slam on the table in front of you. Basically, it just looks like you're listening to music or a podcast.

Enjoy, and leave your questions, comments and feedback below.

Ask Ben a Podcast Question

74 thoughts on “The Ultimate Guide To Using Light To Biohack Your Circadian Rhythms, Sleep Better & Beat Jet Lag Forever.

  1. Will boutte says:

    I bought this and it’s broken in 2 months this is a huge disappointment. Their customer service is non existent.

    1. Try contacting Jari: jari (dot) koponen (at) valkee.com and please let me know how it goes

      1. William Boutte says:

        Thank you.

        You are my favorite Biohacker. I’d love to see another show with Joel Greene. I was able to have an in-depth conversation and he’s a genius.

        1. Thank you for this great feedback WIlliam! I'm glad you enjoyed my conversation with Joel—smart guy for sure! https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/biohacki…

    2. William Boutte says:

      Ben. With your help, they have sent a new Unit out to replace the damaged unit.
      Thank you.

      Will

      KION Supplements are Awesome!

    3. Phil says:

      That may be because the company is bankrupt and now in liquidation since Nov 2021.

      Don’t expect any follow-up from them, this story has ended.

  2. Maria says:

    Hi, I was wondering if this ear system also works for someone like me, who works only nightshifts 4 days a week.
    Can this have a better affect on my body?

  3. ChrisR says:

    Did you see any difference with your amount of deep sleep using the Human Charger?

    1. Matthew Tortoriello says:

      I am experimenting with that now. On day three. No changes yet

      – Flippin Landlord ninja

  4. James says:

    Hi Ben,

    what is the difference if I use human charger vs Joovv light for my daily morning dose to let my body know it is time wake up fresh.?

    1. Human Charger for that! JOOVV better for bedtime…

  5. Don says:

    I have been all over the map on light therapy. I have a non-cancerous tumor in my inner ear that I am doing all I can to shrink naturally. I like the idea of the headset with this device. Does it bring oxygen to the area? What does it exactly do besides help with jet lag, which I don’t have an issue with. Thanks so much for you help on this! As you can imagine, it’s pretty important to me and i am up for trying anything, if it makes sense! Thanks!!

  6. Jack says:

    Hi Ben,

    Your discount code doesn’t appear to be working on Amazon UK?

    Thanks mate.

  7. Julian says:

    Since you are affiliated with them, and they seem to be debunked as a fraud company. And the fact that most of their studies use bad science. I can’t justify buying this.

    Please change my mind

    http://earlightswindle.com/gloom/category/valkeel…

    1. I've addressed this many times. I was skeptical when I saw it too, but I researched and personally tested the Human Charger, as I do with all products I recommend. There have been many studies published in peer-reviewed journals of increasing reputation in the past 2-3 years, largely ignored or falsely interpreted by the operator of this website. In contrast with this one persistent negative voice, I and HC's thousands of satisfied customers are living proof that it does indeed work. You can read more about the research at https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/humancharger.

      1. Catherine says:

        I guess it’s been a while since you updated this page Ben, but that link re reading more research, switches the BG ULR you shared, and takes you here instead – https://humancharger.com/shop-selection/
        Many reviews on Amazon for this product are really awful.. would like to read more research, or know if you are still recommending/using this?

        (FYI someone mentioned it on the Complete Mind Body etc FB page – hence why I (and no doubt others) are coming here to see..)

        1. Yes, I've found it to be very useful.

  8. Karli says:

    www.earlightswindle.com

    There are lightreceptors in your eyes, but not in your ears. Valkee is a fraud

    1. I've seen it. I was skeptical too, but I researched and personally tested the Human Charger, as I do with all products I recommend. There have been many studies published in peer-reviewed journals of increasing reputation in the past 2-3 years, largely ignored or falsely interpreted by the operator of this website. In contrast with this one persistent negative voice, I and HC's thousands of satisfied customers are living proof that it does indeed work. You can read more about the research at https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/humancharger.

      1. Karli says:

        Thanks for answering.

        I love the picture where the tiny LED-light is flooding the brain with light. :-) If you are lucky the light gets to your drumhead, no way it gets through your temporal bone.

        Its a scam and you know it.

  9. Josh says:

    Is there a risk of the blue light causing ROS like it can do to the eyes? Perhaps full spectrum light similar to sunlight would be more beneficial. Would be great to know!

    Thanks a lot,

    Regards,

    Josh

  10. Betty says:

    The code on amazon still isn’t working any help???

    1. Betty, you can save 20% AND get free shipping if you purchase from https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/humancharger and use coupon code "BFITNESS".

  11. Mary says:

    Hi Ben, the discount code isn’t working on amazon!!

    1. Mary says:

      GOT IT!! NEVER MIND!

    2. Betty says:

      what worked?

  12. John says:

    Ben,

    How does this compare to the Vielight systemic model?

    Thanks,

    John

    1. This is like comparing apples and oranges. The Human Charger is blue light for circadian rhythm while the Vielight is photobiomodulation for nitric oxide, mitochondria, etc.

  13. Chuck Tannenbaum says:

    I start my day in the Midwest at 4:30 in the morning with a brief workout, including 12 minutes on an exercise bike doing some intervals. It’s obviously dark then and sometimes remains dark for hours. Many days I have no opportunity to get sunlight early in the day. I have been thinking about getting a large 10.000 lux light to put in front of my exercise bike to use daily. Any reason not to use the human charger instead?

    1. Yep. You can use the human charger. But I also have an article in which I talk about how those box lights are quite horrible for your retina. So you should check this out too. Or use both: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2016/06/how-to-r…

  14. TK says:

    Ben if you had to choose between the re-timer or the light earbuds which would you choose?

    1. Tough choice, but probably earbuds due to portability.

      1. Milan says:

        Hi Ben, just to piggyback on this question – how do these products stack up against each other? I’m looking the best product for my morning protocol as I typically wake up around 5-530. Do you think re-timer’s green-blue light is more efficacious than the light emitted from the Valkee 2? I haven’t been able to find a comparison online. Also, the re-timer is also $60 cheaper online. Thanks in advance man!

  15. Adams Wither says:

    i got one, hopefully it works!!!

  16. Erin says:

    Are you concerned with EMF exposure with this device?

    1. No, this one has extremely low EMF.

      1. Matt Wilson says:

        How do you know? I’m using it now but concerned about EMF

  17. Katerina says:

    DO they still have coupon codes from you, Ben?

    1. Yep – code "BFITNESS" should work through Amazon.

    2. matt says:

      How does the code work? I put it in the promotion code box in amazon and it says ”

      The promotional code you entered cannot be applied to your purchase”

      1. The code has been updated to "Bfitness"

      2. Holly says:

        It doesn’t seem to be working in the U.K…

    3. Kat says:

      The Bfitness code doesn’t work for me on Amazon.com

      1. Order from the seller 'Valkee OY (Ltd)'

        1. Eddie says:

          This is not an option on Amazon and the code doesn’t work with any other seller.

  18. Judy Beeber says:

    We are interested in the Human Charger for mail order catalogs in the U.S. Do you have a distributor here?

  19. Joe says:

    Ben, I work a rotating shift, a variation of the DuPont schedule. How can this help with swapping from days to nights or vise versa?

    1. You shine it on your ears when you want to "fool" your body into thinking it's day! Those are the basics. A ton more you can do though for night shift, etc. I'd be happy to help you via a personal one-on-one consult. Just go to https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/coaching. and then choose a 20 or 60 minute consult, whichever you'd prefer. I can schedule ASAP after you get that.

  20. Hal says:

    Ben, I’ve had insomnia for the last yr. There was some negative info on web re this device. I believe my circ rhythm is forniculated. Can this thing really reset it?

    BTW your book is beyond fantastic. You, Asprey, Fowkes & Ferris are the top of my favorite researchers of all time.

    1. Yep, it really works. Of course, make sure you have good sleep hygiene too, etc. and look up my podcast with Nick Littlehales.

      1. Hal says:

        Bought chrgr today. Will try for month or 2. Much thanks.

        Egregious omission- I forgot to mention Dr. Jack Kruse in prev post (one of the very greatest people IMHO).

  21. Bermudabrett says:

    OK, I travel from the midwest US to Europe and back every week, so I have allot of experience w jetlag. I have been experimenting with the human charger concept over the last four trips and have found ZERO results. So I did some researching and found this: http://earlightswindle.com/ check it out.

    I would add that I _really_ wanted it to work as it is a huge issue for me (jetlag) so the possibility of placebo effect was high and still no go.

    The other red flag is that of all the reviews on Amazon, the only positives are not “verified purchase” reviews. Very suspicious.

    1. Brock says:

      Any thoughts on this Ben? I did some research and found the same things.

      Thanks

      1. Yep – this is covered in the comments above. Here is my response: I've read that article. I was skeptical too when I got my HumanCharger but after doing my own due diligence I decided to give it a try. I always recommend: do your own dd. Good point to start is jet lag study here: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/amhp/2…. HumanCharger worked for me and I really like it. I'm speaking at the Finnish Biohacking Summit at http://biohackersummit.com/ and both Valkee along with plenty of other folks I support and use myself (Four Sigma Foods, Beddit, etc.) will be there. I guarantee there is a great deal of skepticism in the industry about these other folks too. But of course, I always think about it this way: the flat-earthers were quite skeptic when someone proposed the crazy idea that maybe the earth isn't flat. OK, off my soapbox now!

  22. BermudaBrett says:

    Interesting. At $300 a bit rich for me, so I built my own, $20. I cannot yet say if I am a believer or not. I do not feel any “surge” of energy when I use this technique as Ben claims. I travel internationally allot and have begun experimenting and am interested to to see what results I experience. A question for Ben, do you get any referral fee or commission when someone orders with your discount code?

    Thanks for the great articles and Podcasts.

    1. I am an affiliate with them, yes!

  23. Gladgracy says:

    There is no way for light to reach your brain through your ears!!! What a giant hoax.

    1. Untrue. Read the article. Follow the research.

  24. FrasierLinde says:

    Interesting, but wow that's a lot of money for such a simple device that probably costs something like $15 to manufacture…

  25. Mark says:

    I travel a lot between time zones and I have the HumanCharger on my wish list. Unfortunately, after have been looking around the web for the science behind it, I found an article from December 2013 on a Swedish tech news site which claims that Valkee has been accused of fraud and pseudoscience in Finland. There is also a scientific study from Switzerland on PubMed on extraocular light via the ear canal which isn't in favor of the HumanCharger.
    Do you have an opinion on this, Ben?
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24224577
    http://www.chronobiology.ch/news/light-in-the-ear…

    1. Hey Mark,

      Yes – I've read that article. I was skeptical too when I got my HumanCharger but after doing my own due diligence I decided to give it a try. I always recommend: do your own dd. Good point to start is jet lag study here: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/amhp/2…. HumanCharger worked for me and I really like it. I'm speaking at the Finnish Biohacking Summit at http://biohackersummit.com/ and both Valkee along with plenty of other folks I support and use myself (Four Sigma Foods, Beddit, etc.) will be there. I guarantee there is a great deal of skepticism in the industry about these other folks too. But of course, I always think about it this way: the flat-earthers were quite skeptic when someone proposed the crazy idea that maybe the earth isn't flat. OK, off my soapbox now!

  26. danellajade says:

    fascinating, Im travelling from Auckland New Zealand to Tunisia in a months time with my 6 month old baby. Do you think ben it would be possible to use this on her as well? Id hate to mess with her sleep cycles but if its going to help her then i think it would be well worth getting.

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