{"id":1079,"date":"2016-12-16T10:16:35","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T15:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/?p=1079"},"modified":"2016-12-14T17:42:10","modified_gmt":"2016-12-14T22:42:10","slug":"could-your-offices-awful-flickering-fluorescents-stave-off-alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/2016\/12\/could-your-offices-awful-flickering-fluorescents-stave-off-alzheimers\/","title":{"rendered":"Could your office’s awful flickering fluorescents stave off Alzheimer’s?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost certainly not, but listen:<\/p>\n

Crappy fluorescent fixtures flicker at 120 Hz (i.e.,\u00a0120 times each second, twice the frequency of the AC mains)\u2014but that’s when performing perfectly. \u00a0Usually, you won’t notice that at all. \u00a0In fact, a flicker can get down to around 60 Hz<\/a> before\u00a0the average person can see it (I’ve been told that this was part of the motivation for choosing that frequency, as early incandescent bulbs would tend to noticeably pulse along with the AC).<\/p>\n

But if the fluorescent light is visible and unambiguously flickering, then\u00a0it’s \"Nackratte_01\"definitely<\/em> down below 50 Hz. \u00a0And here’s the thing: \u00a0the bright LEDs they’re using in this experiment<\/a> to successfully treat and reverse symptoms of\u00a0Alzheimer’s, they’re pulsing at 40 Hz<\/a>\u2014i.e., the “creepy horror-film industrial building” frequency.<\/p>\n

(Please do listen to the entire<\/strong> podcast<\/a> before deciding\u00a0to spend a lot of time sitting under shitty office lights; the research is in its infancy and the rate of successful transfer of Alzheimer’s research from rodents to humans is something like 0.4%).<\/p>\n

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