ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Behav. Neurosci.
Sec. Emotion Regulation and Processing
Bright Light Exposure Reduces Negative Affect and Modulates EEG Activity in Sleep-Deprived and Well-Rested Adolescents
Provisionally accepted
Jana Kopřivová1,2*
Zuzana Kaňková1Přemysl Vlček1,2
Marek Piorecký1,3
Lenka Maierova4Zdeňka Bendová1,2
Kateřina Skálová1,5
Tereza Nekovarova1,5*- 1Narodni ustav dusevniho zdravi, Klecany, Czechia
- 2Univerzita Karlova 3 lekarska fakulta, Prague, Czechia
- 3Fakulta biomedicínského inženýrství, Ceske vysoke uceni technicke v Praze, Prague, Czechia
- 4Univerzitní centrum energeticky efektivních budov, Ceske vysoke uceni technicke v Praze, Prague, Czechia
- 5Univerzita Karlova Prirodovedecka fakulta, Prague, Czechia
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This study investigated whether a single morning session of bright light exposure modulates alertness, cognition, mood, and EEG activity in well-rested and partially sleep-deprived adolescents. Forty-seven subjects (15 – 21 years) were assigned to a well-rested (8 h sleep; 9 men, 15 women) or a sleep-deprived group (4 h sleep; 11 men, 12 women). All underwent 30 minutes of morning bright light exposure, with EEG, cognitive testing, and ratings of sleepiness and affect conducted pre-and post-intervention. Behavioral and electrophysiological changes were compared within and between groups. Associations between changes in EEG activity and behavioral outcomes were explored using correlation analyses. Bright light significantly reduced negative affect and improved Digit Span Forward task performance. No changes were observed in positive affect, subjective sleepiness, or Digit Span Backward scores. EEG analysis revealed decreased delta activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and increased beta activity in the right insula and fronto-parietal regions. Behavioral and EEG effects were similar across groups; however, only in the sleep-deprived group changes in beta activity significantly correlated with reduced negative affect. These results suggest that bright light may acutely enhance emotional state, cognitive performance, and cortical arousal in adolescents. The link between beta activity and affective improvement under sleep deprivation suggests a potential mechanism by which light supports emotional regulation.
Keywords: Bright light, Sleep Deprivation, adolescents, Electroencephalography, mood, Cognition, alertness
Received: 25 Jul 2025; Accepted: 29 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kopřivová, Kaňková, Vlček, Piorecký, Maierova, Bendová, Skálová and Nekovarova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jana Kopřivová, jana.koprivova@nudz.cz
Tereza Nekovarova, tereza.nekovarova@nudz.cz
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.