EURAMET 22NRM05 MeLiDos - Metrology for wearable light loggers and optical radiation dosimeters
Published June 16, 2026 | Version v1.0.4
Software Open

Environmental and behavioural determinants of the personal light exposome (Analysis Artifact)

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Department Health and Sports Sciences, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Chronobiology & Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
  • 2. Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Gastroenterology, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Faculty of Science, Department of Neuroscience, Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir, Turkey
  • 3. Smart Sensor Systems research group, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Delft, The Netherlands
  • 4. Department of Optometry and Visual Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
  • 5. Faculty of Science, Department of Neuroscience, Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir, Turkey
  • 6. Fundación Universitaria CEU San Pablo, Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain
  • 7. Smart Sensor Systems research group, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Delft, The Netherlands; Centre for Sustainability, Environment and Health of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands
  • 8. Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
  • 9. Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Max Planck Research Group Translational Sensory & Circadian Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany
  • 10. RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
  • 11. School of Architecture, University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica
  • 12. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne, CH
  • 13. Department Health and Sports Sciences, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Chronobiology & Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Max Planck Research Group Translational Sensory & Circadian Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany; TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany; TUMCREATE Ltd., Singapore, Singapore

Description

Personal light exposure is a modifiable component of the health exposome, but its everyday determinants remain poorly understood. We conducted an observational, harmonised, multi-country wearable study of ocular light exposure in 191 adults across nine sites in Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Costa Rica, and Ghana, comprising 1,480 participant-days. Participants wore calibrated light loggers near the corneal plane and at chest level and completed repeated contextual assessments. Average daytime exposure remained below recommended melanopic levels, with adherence varying by site, daily phase and photoperiod. Exposure generally increased with latitude despite greater year-round sunlight at lower latitudes, consistent with behavioural filtering through shade-seeking, indoor living or heat avoidance. Individual and activity-level differences explained more variation than site. Daylight access, outdoor activity and micro-environment were the strongest correlates. These findings support personalized, context-sensitive light interventions and establish ocular light exposure as a measurable exposomic factor relevant to health.

Notes

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Software: https://github.com/tscnlab/ZaunerEtAl_bioRxiv_2026/tree/v1.0.4 (URL)

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https://github.com/tscnlab/ZaunerEtAl_bioRxiv_2026