Diurnal Circadian Lighting Accumulation Model: A Predictor of the Human Circadian Phase Shift Phenotype

Light is an important external factor that affects human circadian rhythms. This study aimed to explore the effects of different dimensions of diurnal light exposure on the physiological circadian phase shift (CPS) of the human body. A strict light exposure experiment with different timing schemes (8:00–12:00, 13:00–17:00, 18:00–22:00), durations (4 h, 8 h) and effective circadian stimulus levels (circadian stimulus: 0.35, 0.55) was performed in an enclosed laboratory. Fourteen participants, including seven males and seven females, with a mean age of 24.29 ± 2.43 (mean ± standard deviation), participated in this experiment and experienced all six lighting schemes. The results showed that both time factor (F(3,40) = 29.079, p < 0.001, the power of the sample size = 0.98) and circadian stimulus levels (T(20) = − 2.415, p = 0.025, the power of sample size = 0.76) significantly affect the CPS. On this basis, a diurnal circadian lighting accumulation (DCLA)—CPS model was proposed in the form of the Boltzmann function, and was validated by experimental data with high correlation (R(2) = 0.9320, RSS = 0.1184), which provides strong support for rationally arranging the light level at different times of the day.