We made a light measuring device. But what is the LYS Button and how does it work?



By LYS
11 Sep 2019

What exactly is a light measuring device and why do we need it, you may be wondering. And to answer simply (we like to keep things simple), it is a wearable like any other that measures light intake in real-time, allowing LYS Technologies to gather as much information on the type of light people are exposed to throughout the day and gather insights on how this impacts their sleep and energy levels.

Think of it in the same way you would a Fitbit or an Oura ring – or pretty much any other wearable out there. Just like your heart rate is measured, or how footsteps are counted, or how many flights of stairs you’ve ascended kept track of, or your mood, the LYS Button measures the light you are receiving. What colour it is, at what intensity and for how long.

Why you may ask too? Because not unlike how your heart rate gives your fitness wearable information that allows it to understand more about the type of exercise you’re doing and how it’s impacting your health and wellbeing, measuring the light you are exposed to allows LYS Technologies to understand how it is impacting your energy levels and quality of sleep. Because light indeed is one of the main influencing factors on how you sleep and also how you perform cognitively and physically throughout the day.

So how does it work? The LYS Button – which is the wearable device that we developed to measure light intake – has miniaturized light measuring sensors that have been built to replicate the non-visual photoreceptors in our eyes. These receptors are the only way our body absorbs the light that we then translate into the signals that control our circadian rhythms, basically our sleep and awake cycle.

The LYS Button then connects to the LYS Insight app or the LYS Collect, both of which are platforms that host information on light intake in a simple and fun way so users can understand it. The Insight app is for the individual user to understand in real-time how light is affecting their energy levels and sleep quality – with simple light goals throughout the day to help them reach better light. While the Collect app has been developed as a tool for researchers to access the raw data collected by participants and help advance their study.

Find out more about the LYS Button and how LYS has made light measuring technology simple, easy to use, discreet and filled with accessible data and insights.