LumosTech Utilizes Non-Invasive Light Technology to Provide Circadian Rhythm Misalignment Relief for Jet-Lagged Travelers and Night Shift Workers
Working with renowned sleep disruption specialist Jamie Zeitzer, PhD, CEO & Founder Biquan Luo, PhD, pulled from her own experience suffering travel-induced fatigue to develop a non-invasive solution for the masses.
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Challenge
Approximately 95 million people in the US sleep at times against their body’s natural rhythm. This encompasses travelers across multiple time zones and individuals working sliding shift schedules that include night hours. Several industries are affected by this unnatural sleep pattern, and the result — circadian rhythm misalignment or circadian clock disruption — impacts the lives of both the sufferer and those around them.
For those relying upon their physical and emotional wellness for their livelihood, being out of sync with nature’s internal clock puts their performance and overall quality of life at risk.
Circadian clock disruption can manifest through insomnia, irritability, excessive sleepiness while performing tasks, memory loss, and even long-term health disorders such as cancer and diabetes. The by-products are accidents, loss of income, self-esteem issues, debilitating health problems, and strained relationships. Employers face lower productivity, an increase in accidents and human errors, higher levels of burnout and churn rate, rising insurance costs, and lost revenue of $63.2B each year.
Jet-lagged travelers and night shift workers combat circadian rhythm misalignment with the usual suspects of solutions: caffeine, nicotine, and forcing oneself to stay awake to hopefully reset their internal clock; alcohol, marijuana, supplements, drugs, and naps to help them sleep. These, however, are temporary, build tolerance, create serious side-effects, or simply don’t work, leading to health issues. While attempts to shift slumber schedules by staying awake can accumulate enough homeostatic sleep drive — the process during the day that increases your desire to rest at night — the circadian rhythm remains unchanged, leading to sufferers waking earlier the next morning and unable to sleep at all the next day.
The current devices and apps designed to combat the issue by using light to boost the circadian rhythm are not sustainable. Bulky and not at all user-friendly, they are invasive and require a level of participation that may interrupt rather than support sleep. Night-shift workers and jet-lagged travelers need something that works with the body’s internal clock to adjust its sleep schedule to unnatural routines without disrupting their lives and putting them at further health risk. They need a solution that enhances performance and wellness by incorporating seamlessly into the sufferer’s life.
Where would such a solution come from? As the saying goes, “experience is the teacher of all things,” and through shared, empathic experience, LumosTech created just such a solution.
Origin Story
Biquan Luo received her PhD in Genetics, Molecular and Cell Biology at USC then followed up with postdoctoral studies at Stanford. Originally from China, she flew across multiple time zones whenever she had a break. Dr. Luo discovered that as soon as she adjusted to local time, she had to return to the States, starting the process all over again. She suffered from serious jet lag, making it harder to get her mind and body back on track.
Around this time, Dr. Luo was exposed to Jamie Zeitzer, PhD, and his decades of research into how the human body’s circadian rhythm was regulated. She discovered she wasn’t just going through jet lag, but circadian rhythm misalignment or circadian clock disruption. The more Dr. Luo learned about the body’s internal clock and how it influenced not only sleep but overall health and wellness, she realized others must be experiencing the same issues and wanted to figure out a way to fix it for everyone. But how?
Focusing on jet lag, Dr. Luo worked with Dr. Zeitzer on tricking the body’s circadian rhythm into believing it was on a regular sleep and wake schedule even while shifting across time zones. They did this using light to reflect the circadian rhythm’s natural ebb and flow.
Our internal clock works on a 24-hour cycle, naturally tied to the rising and setting of the sun. Light influences its effectiveness, regenerating our body’s different systems and the chemicals that rejuvenate us. When that natural process is thrown off by pushing across various time zones where sunrise and sunset occur at drastically different times than what our bodies are used to, it takes a while to naturally adjust. While that happens, we’re physically and mentally out of sync, creating fatigue, exhaustion, and sleep deprivation even as we slumber because the act of sleeping isn’t the same as having a healthy, regulated circadian rhythm.
Dr. Zeitzer’s research revealed that short, gentle light pulses delivered during the night moved the circadian rhythm forward or backward, depending on the need. Lab studies with human subjects in a tightly controlled, heavily regulated environment are one thing. Bringing it to life in the real world where people have far more distractions and unforeseen variables is quite another. Realizing a sophisticated algorithm could accommodate the dynamic actions and noise of real life, Dr. Luo and Dr. Zeitzer worked with a team of top scientists to develop algorithms — the true trade secret — then patented the entire experience.
Dr. Luo and her team sought and received funding from NASA to create a prototype to address circadian clock disruption for jet lag. They purchased an inexpensive, comfortable sleep mask and used Dr. Luo herself as the initial test subject. They wove electronic transmitters through the store-bought mask that communicated with the Bluetooth on her phone to receive the input gently and easily while she slept.
The goal was to have the algorithm work off the upcoming travel schedule then deliver the gentle light pulse during sleep in the days leading up to her trip without Dr. Luo changing her normal sleep/wake schedule. This naturally and gently adjusted her circadian rhythm to the local time of her travel before arriving and without disrupting her daily routine. The experience was different from the bulky, invasive light-based solutions already on the market.
There were many jumpstarts and times it was off-line, requiring adjustments. They soon discovered a working model and Dr. Luo’s jet lag disappeared for her trips to and from Asia. Not only could she regulate her circadian rhythm to reflect her location without having to adjust her schedule, but she also woke up well-rested. Word got out that the company now known as LumosTech was ready to share with others who could benefit from the solution.
A human performance subject matter expert within the Department of Defense (DoD) heard about the prototype and contacted Lumos in 2018. Soldiers were heavily affected by jet lag, putting their performance and wellbeing at risk, and Lumos provided several devices to the DoD for evaluation. The devices worked so well, that LumosTech applied for and was awarded a $2.1M Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to expand the product to cover night shift workers.
Until then, LumosTech was focused on jet lag and the algorithm Dr. Luo developed worked by aligning the mind with the circadian rhythm of the natural sunrise and sunset of the location to which a person is traveling aka the “local environment.” Circadian rhythm misalignment caused by night shift or sliding shift work happens due to the body’s internal clock fighting against this local environment when attempting to sleep during the day. A new algorithm was needed.
While the same scientific principle, the night shift model is more complicated. First, most workers must adjust between the day shift and the night shift within a single day. The other reason is when you travel, the sun works with you. Pulling a night shift means you are working against the natural environmental cue — the sunlight — that as Dr. Luo says, “is the most important regulator of human circadian rhythm.” She needed to adjust the algorithm to accommodate that unique spin, and the team got to work.
To date, LumosTech is in the validation phase of a mask that addresses the circadian clock disruption faced by night shift workers within the military and DoD and has a working product that helps those experiencing jet lag and night shifts. In the preliminary data from a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, mask usage in night shift workers was shown to be associated with higher alertness and faster reaction time. The working mask is also leading to opportunities for potential partnerships with teams in the NBA and WNBA, attracting the attention of world-traveling Olympic athletes and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as well as companies in manufacturing, hospitals, first responders, and transportation.
Under the Hood
There are two parts to the Lumos light therapy: light pulse and sunrise effect. The light pulses are predominantly used to shift the body’s internal clock to help those whose sleep is affected by drastic changes to their schedules and is effective in rapidly recalibrating the circadian rhythm.
The pulse technology combined with algorithms address circadian rhythm misalignment affecting two populations: jet-lagged travelers and night shift workers. The process is simple and does not require users to disrupt their usual schedule to get the benefits.
Jet lag is handled by the traveler preparing themselves for their trip one to two days before. Users share the destination on the app — for example, “traveling to Barcelona on the 13th” — and put on the mask and go to sleep. Lined with electronics and working through the proprietary algorithm that communicates with the user’s mobile device via Bluetooth, light pulses are gently delivered while the traveler rests, advancing or delaying the circadian clock depending on the destination. The user still gets up at the usual time the next morning but when they arrive, they are naturally in sync with the locale, seamlessly sleeping and waking. In preparation for their return or moving on to the next location, they again preprogram it one to two days ahead.
Night shift workers provide slightly different information. They go onto the app and share their upcoming schedule — for example, “7pm to 7am shift starting on the 15th” — put on the mask and go to sleep at their normal time. The algorithm works with the light pulse as with that for jet lag, rewiring their circadian rhythm to create a sleep schedule that allows the worker to get the rest they need during irregular slumber hours.
The second feature is a sunrise effect also known as a sunrise alarm. Created to support those simply looking for a better night’s rest, it gently exposes users to a simulation of sunrise in the morning, stabilizing their circadian rhythm to help them wake refreshed. Although this broadens Lumos’ base to the everyday consumer, the company is primarily focused on the power users who suffer from severe or challenging circadian misalignment that make reprogramming the body’s internal clock to optimum efficiency critical to their jobs and lives.
Professional athletes are part of that group who need to master sleep to perform at their peak. They notoriously travel across various time zones and work unusual hours, taking a toll on performance, winning percentage, health, and more. In addition to Olympic medalists embracing the product, LumosTech has been accepted as one of the final four in the NBA launchpad program to bring the solution not only to the overall organization but specific teams. The
company is also in direct discussion with NBA sports teams as well as those in the WNBA and MLS about using their product to help the players overcome jet lag and travel fatigue. Several professional athletes and performance coaches recently tried out the Lumos mask for their international trips and had great results. In addition, LumosTech is planning field testing with teams in the State Department and the Marines.
Last Word
The LumosTech product seamlessly incorporates into a user’s normal routine, is non-invasive, has no side-effects, and is non-addictive. By establishing a manageable way to influence the internal clock for a more fulfilling and effective work-life balance even under unnatural circumstances, LumosTech shows thought and innovation that excites StartUp Health.
Consideration for the end-user drives them to succeed. It is how the company started and how the company intends to maintain its focus.
LumosTech is also committed to becoming a primary deliverer of overall wellness within the next five years, building off their understanding of the circadian rhythm and its role as one of the keys to the engine that powers the human body in virtually every way. Circadian rhythm not only supports healthy waking and sleeping patterns but is vital to the efficient inner workings of such natural mechanisms as metabolism, weight management, and cognition. LumosTech’s circadian rhythm research and support has implications that can make a difference in the battle against mental and emotional issues caused by circadian clock disruption as well as life-threatening conditions such as cancer and cardiometabolic diseases, leading to optimizing wellness on a global scale.
StartUp Health is also drawn to how LumosTech has chosen to enter the wellness space. A good night’s sleep is critical for our health and wellbeing. Humans spend up to one-third of their lives doing it and its quality — or lack thereof — affects us physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Many critical occupations operate within unnatural sleep/wake hours out of sync with their circadian rhythm, putting them, their health, and various aspects of the organizations for whom they work at risk. The LumosTech solution proves it is possible to adjust one’s internal clock to address the needs of those power users and they are wisely laying the groundwork for what their science and technological innovations can provide on a broader level. The response they have received within these first two segments alone — jet-lagged travelers and night shift workers — shows they benefit individuals and the affected populations most at risk while also supporting a stronger bottom-line of the businesses and organizations relying on the performance of this workforce.
“I interact with a lot of users and that’s frankly one of the most satisfying parts of running a company,” Dr. Luo shares. “You bring direct benefit to people, and they’ll write me emails expressing how much difference our product makes in their lives, and it makes my day every time.”
StartUp Health is pleased to welcome LumosTech to our team. They are bridging the gap between lab-based research and real-world solutions that affect people’s lives. By maintaining their focus and desire to make a positive impact on global health and wellbeing through creating an immersive experience that requires little to no effort on the part of the user, they are developing powerful tools for building a full body and mind wellness platform.
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Published: Jun 8, 2023