Most people know melatonin as the "sleep hormone" produced at night by the pineal gland. The presence and absence of blue light impacts the circadian rhythm, and the reduction of blue light to facilitate melatonin production is a core principle baked into every Restful product.

It turns out that reducing blue light is only part of the melatonin story. Pineal melatonin accounts for only about 10% of your body's total melatonin production. The other 90% has less to do with sleep, and it has everything to do with a particular type of light missing from modern LED bulbs.

The Role of Near Infrared in Cellular Repair

90% of bodily melatonin is produced during the day by mitochondria in nearly every cell. Unlike pineal melatonin, subcellular melatonin acts locally as a powerful antioxidant, protecting cells from damage during energy production.

Near-Infrared (NIR) light—invisible wavelengths present sunlight but missing from most electric lighting—triggers this daytime cellular protection. NIR penetrates deeply into tissues, where it's absorbed by mitochondrial photoreceptors.

Near-infrared light boosts energy through ATP production, stimulates local melatonin, and supports cellular repair. Studies show that therapeutic red/NIR light can even reduce blood glucose spikes.

Our Modern Infrared Deficiency

Our bodies evolved with spectrally-balanced sunlight, but modern living creates a fundamental NIR deficiency:

• We spend 90% of our time indoors behind NIR-blocking windows
• LED and fluorescent lighting completely lacks the NIR spectrum present in older incandescent bulbs

This leaves cells exposed to unbalanced blue light without NIR's protective effects, causing oxidative stress.

Restoring Balance with Bedtime Bulb v2

Restful's Bedtime Bulb v2 re-introduces NIR to indoor lighting, which has been missing since the phase-out of incandescent and halogen lighting.

Bedtime Bulb v2 is the most complete lighting product for promoting melatonin production, both in the brain and locally in cells: 

• LessBlue™ 2.0: Minimal blue light for circadian melatonin production in the brain
• IRadient™: Gentle near-infrared to boost local melatonin and support cellular recovery 

The spectrum of Bedtime Bulb v2: low in blue and high in red and infrared

Bedtime Bulb v2 is the first product in Restful's range of healthy lighting to emit infrared, but we're not stopping there. We're committed to adding infrared to a wide range of Restful products, with more announcements coming in 2026.

Order Bedtime Bulb v2, and experience the benefits of near-infrared light.