Did you know that blue lighting increases hunger?

According to a new study, blue-enriched light exposure was associated with an increase in hunger 15 minutes after light onset and for the following two hours. Blue light also decreased sleepiness and contributed to higher measures of insulin resistance.

Study co-author Ivy Cheung, a doctoral candidate in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience program at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, said, “It was very interesting to observe that a single three-hour exposure to blue-enriched light in the evening acutely impacted hunger and glucose metabolism. These results are important because they suggest that manipulating environmental light exposure for humans may represent a novel approach of influencing food intake patterns and metabolism.”

Want to keep your event attendees awake and hungry? Consider adding blue to your lighting scheme and let science do the rest.