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Blue light may help you go to sleep, according to a new study.

Exposure to short wavelength of blue light during the biological day directly and immediately improves alertness and performance, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

"Our previous research has shown that blue light is able to improve alertness during the night, but our new data demonstrates that these effects also extend to daytime light exposure," lead study author Shadab Rahman, PhD, a researcher in BWH's Division of Sleep Medicine said in a news release. "These findings demonstrate that prolonged blue light exposure during the day has an alerting effect."

The latest study involved 16 study participants for 6.5 hours over a day.

Researchers then rated how sleepy they felt under different lights. They had their reaction times measured and wore electrodes to assess changes in brain activity during light exposure.

The findings revealed that participants exposed to blue light were more likely to rate themselves as less sleep, had quicker reaction times and fewer lapses of attention during performance tests compared to those who were exposed to green light. Participants also showed more changes in brain activity patters that suggested a more alert state.

"These results contribute to our understanding of how light impacts the brain and open up a new range of possibilities for using light to improve human alertness, productivity and safety," senior investigator Steven Lockley, PhD, neuroscientist at BWH said in a news release. "While helping to improve alertness in night workers has obvious safety benefits, day shift workers may also benefit from better quality lighting that would not only help them see better but also make them more alert."

The findings are published in the journal Sleep.