The 'light shower' that could end the misery of jetlag: Airline reveals walk in chamber that resets the body's internal clock

U.S. airline Delta has created 'photon shower' that could treat jetlag

It uses light to reset the body's clock by recreating the effect of sunlight

Jetlag could soon be a thing of the past thanks to the development of a new ‘light shower’.



The American airline Delta has unveiled a ‘photon shower’ that could help passengers recover from jetlag by using light to alter the body’s internal clock.



The ‘shower’ allows travellers to input their flight information and it then adjusts to meet their individual needs.



Delta has unveiled a 'photon shower' that could help passengers recover from jetlag by using light to alter the body's internal clock It is a light chamber that was designed by Delta’s advertising agency, Wieden + Kennedy New York, and is the result of neuroscience and sleep research by Dr Russell Foster, from the University of Oxford. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next How 'locust vision' could stop car crashes: Scientists... The mobile phone game that could beat cancer: Facebook,... Share this article Share The idea came about after Dr Foster gave a talk about how light can be used to realign our body clocks when we are jetlagged.

‘He casually suggested that people might someday 'bathe in light' in a kind of 'photon shower' in order to help their jet-lagged brains recover. Even celebrities are interested in the 'light shower': Harry Shum, who plays Mike Chang in TV series Glee, tried it out at the TED Conference 'This lit up our imaginations immediately,’ said W+K representative, Catherine McCurry.



The breakthrough could mean an end to jetlag for frequent travellers

‘We started sketching some designs of what that might be like. We pitched it to our client, got the green light, brought London production company Nexus on board, and started making the photon shower a reality,’ she added.



The ‘shower’, which was exhibited at the TED Long Beach Conference in California last week, works by creating a light sequence that recreates the effect of sunlight.

In this way it alleviates jetlag and provides a pick-me-up for tired travellers.

Building a photon shower, the first of its kind, was a complex undertaking, the team said.

‘Not only was there the build of the physical structure, there was the app to run the device, there was animation that had to be created to project the blue light in an elegant way, there was an algorithm that had to be developed to create custom jet-lag therapy calendars that users could take home, all the way down to a very specific sound design,’ explains W+K employee Jamie Carreiro.



He added: ‘Our partners at Q Department created synesthetic ambient audio derived from the exact light wavelength used in the installation itself. It was a delightfully multimedia process.



‘When you step inside, the small structure of the shower disappears, and the environment becomes surprisingly expansive.

‘Using an infinity mirror setup, we made the space feel much larger than it actually is.’



When someone enters the ‘shower’ they are asked to input their flight information and they are then guided through the experience by a narrator.



The 'light shower' (pictured from the outside) works by creating a light sequence that recreates the effect of sunlight

Ms McCurry said: ‘Flowing blue animations appear before you on the LED wall.



'They’re particularly impactful because these LED panels are typically used for large on-stage displays, so being right up close to a screen like this is really rare.



'It has a strong effect.



‘At times, it really feels like it’s raining light.’



It is believed that the light box could eventually find its way into the home as it could give a pick-me-up to tired partiers or to people who work night shifts.

