Skip to main content

New CIE Technical Note Published "A Comprehensive Checklist For Reporting Light Characteristics in Laboratory-based Human Studies Using Light as an Intervention"


The CIE has published CIE TN 016:2026 – A Comprehensive Checklist for Reporting Light Characteristics in Laboratory-Based Human Studies Using Light as an Intervention (DOI: 10.25039/TN.016.2026).

Through initiatives such as  CIE S 026/E:2018 System for Metrology of Optical Radiation for ipRGC-Influenced Responses to Light, the CIE has contributed to establishing internationally recognized methods for measuring how different characteristics of light influence the human visual and non-visual systems. This includes defining functions, quantities, and metrics to describe the stimulation of different photoreceptor types, including melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), which are involved in responses such as circadian entrainment and the pupillary light reflex.

Despite these advances, the research community has lacked consensus on which light characteristics should be reported in laboratory-based human studies investigating ipRGC-influenced responses to light. The absence of consistent reporting practices has limited comparisons between studies and made it more difficult to draw robust conclusions about the effects of light exposure on human health and well-being.

The newly published Technical Note addresses this need by introducing the first internationally endorsed consensus checklist (ENLIGHT) for reporting light interventions in laboratory-based human studies. Developed through a modified Delphi consensus process involving experts in the field, the checklist provides a standardized framework for documenting light characteristics in studies investigating ipRGC-influenced responses to light, including circadian entrainment, the pupillary light reflex, and other non-visual effects.

By promoting consistent reporting practices, the Technical Note is expected to improve the transparency, reproducibility, and comparability of research findings. It will also facilitate future meta-analyses, support the development of evidence-based lighting and light-therapy applications, and strengthen the translation of research outcomes into clinical practice, public health, and lighting design.

CIE TN 016:2026 is published in English, comprises 9 pages, and is freely available for download from the CIE website.

Learn more and download the paper here.

The following CIE publications referred to in CIE TN 016:2026 are readily available from the CIE website or CIE Webshop: