Episode 148: What Light Is Doing to Your Sleep, Hormones, Mood + Your Kids – with Roudy Nassif

You know the mornings I'm talking about. The alarm nobody wants to answer. The kid you practically have to peel out of bed. The wired, bouncing-off-the-walls evenings right when it's finally time to wind down. And that low hum underneath it all, the sense that everyone is just a little bit... off. A little dysregulated. Running on fumes.

You've tried the earlier bedtime, the new routine, another supplement. But underneath all of it is one piece almost no one talks about. Light.

Your relationship with light quietly influences your sleep, hormones, mood and energy, and your kids' ability to wake up, focus, handle their big feelings and actually settle at night. And in a world of screens and artificial light, our relationship with it has never been more disrupted.

In this episode, I sit down with Roudy Nassif, an engineer, health entrepreneur and circadian light specialist. After his own journey through ADHD and depression, Roudy founded VivaRays, the light-filtering glasses I wear and love. We go deep on how light shapes so much more than sleep, from your children's focus and moods all the way to fertility, and at one point in our conversation, he said something that moved me to tears.

A few things we get into:

• Why your mornings, and your kids' mornings, feel like a daily battle and the hidden reason underneath it.
• How the light in your home may be quietly driving the dysregulation you keep trying to discipline your way out of.
• Why even one hour of screens before bed can significantly disrupt a child's melatonin, and what that means heading into back-to-school.
• The study that instantly proved kids learn better under the right lighting.
• The surprising link between light, your child's big emotions, and even... cavities.
• Where light fits into the global fertility crisis almost no one is talking about.
• Roudy's hero's journey, from ADHD and depression to circadian light specialist.
• Why most blue-light glasses on the market don't actually work, and what makes a pair effective.
• The one thing Roudy believes matters even MORE than your light practices.
• The number one person to start this work with.
• The single sentence that moved me to tears.

You are Fiercely Awakening.

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Resources Mentioned

VivaRays Circadian Glasses These are my favorite harmonizing lenses and one of the biggest game-changers in my routine. Yellow for daytime screens, orange for evening wind-down and red for that last stretch before bed.

Anytime: Save 15% with code TONYAHOLCOMB

🎒 BACK-TO-SCHOOL SALE: August 23–30 Save 20% on ALL kids glasses with code back2school

If there's one thing you do before the screens, homework and early alarms take over this fall, make it protecting your child's relationship with light. After this episode, you'll understand exactly why. → Shop VivaRays here.

Want the foundation first? Go back to my two-part sleep series: From Sleep Debt to Sleep Freedom: How I Changed My Chronotype and the Chronotype Sleep Deep Dive Q&A.

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Disclaimer: This episode is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Nothing here is meant to diagnose, treat or cure any condition. Always work with a qualified provider who knows your situation before making changes to your health.