Section H — Coach Light — Light as a Tool
This section covers Chapter 3, Lessons 3.1 through 3.4.
Part A — Vocabulary (20 points, 2 points each)
Select the best answer for each question.
1. Practice (vs. protocol) in Coach Light means:
A) A sustainable habit fitted to real life — different from a rigid time-and-duration plan B) Always the same as a protocol C) Only relevant to athletes D) Required for all students
2. Effective light is:
A) Any light at all B) Light that actually reaches the retina with enough intensity to affect ipRGCs — different from "light in the room" C) Always artificial D) Only candlelight
3. Pre-sleep window is:
A) Always one hour B) The 2-3 hours before normal bedtime — most sensitive window for light hygiene affecting melatonin C) The first hour after waking D) Only on weekends
4. Functional dimming is:
A) A type of meditation B) Reducing brightness through multiple combined practices — lower lights, lower screen brightness, distance, warmer colors — rather than any single trick C) Only turning off all lights D) The same as sleep
5. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is:
A) A normal winter mood B) A clinical pattern of major depression with seasonal onset (most commonly fall/winter) — diagnosed and treated by healthcare providers C) Caused only by the moon D) Always present in every adult
6. Bright light therapy is:
A) A self-treatment for kids B) A research-supported clinical treatment for SAD using prescribed bright light (often 10,000 lux) in the morning, under healthcare-provider guidance — for adults; not a self-treatment for adolescents C) Always required D) Required by school
7. Subclinical winter mood changes are:
A) The same as clinical depression B) Mild winter changes in mood, energy, or sleep that do not meet criteria for clinical depression but are real for the person C) Always severe D) Imaginary
8. Jet lag is:
A) Travel exhaustion you should ignore B) The temporary mismatch between body clock and local time after rapid travel across time zones — adjusts at about 1-2 hours per day, eastward harder than westward C) Only present in pilots D) Always permanent
9. The modern light inversion is:
A) A type of yoga pose B) The cultural pattern of dim days (indoor lighting) and bright nights (artificial light + screens) — the opposite of the environment human biology evolved in C) A type of plant D) Made up
10. Eye safety in this chapter includes:
A) Looking at the sun for 5 seconds each morning B) The explicit rule that direct sun-staring is dangerous — solar retinopathy is real; morning light comes from being outside, not from staring at the sun C) Only adults need to consider eye safety D) Sunglasses are mandatory all day
Part B — Concept Comprehension (20 points, 2 points each)
Select the best answer for each question.
11. The most useful daily morning-light practice for adolescents is:
A) A rigid 30-min daily protocol with no flexibility B) Some bright outdoor light in the first 1-2 hours after waking, in whatever form fits real life — even small amounts crossing the threshold of effective light matter C) Staring at the sun for several seconds D) Standing in a dark room
12. Outdoor light, even on a cloudy day, is typically:
A) Dimmer than indoor lights B) Many times brighter than typical indoor light — crosses the threshold of effective light while indoor light usually does not C) The same as candlelight D) Useless
13. Useful evening light hygiene during the pre-sleep window includes:
A) Maximum overhead light brightness B) Functional dimming — fewer lights, warmer colors, lower screen brightness, increased distance from screens, and a screen-off transition before bed C) Staring into a phone at full brightness D) Hours of TV at close range
14. Bright light therapy for SAD:
A) Should be self-prescribed by middle schoolers B) Has research support in adult clinical practice under healthcare-provider guidance — light boxes are medical devices, not toys, and decisions belong with a doctor C) Always cures depression D) Is unsafe for anyone
15. "Normal winter mood" vs. clinical SAD:
A) The same thing B) Different — mild winter mood changes are common and not a disorder; clinical SAD meets criteria for major depression with seasonal onset and warrants healthcare evaluation C) Always cause for emergency D) Never different
16. When traveling across time zones:
A) Bodies adjust instantly B) Adjust at about 1-2 hours per day; eastward travel is generally harder than westward because of the natural >24-hour drift of the human circadian rhythm C) Westward is always harder than eastward D) Adjustment takes years
17. Using light to manage jet lag:
A) Has no effect B) For eastward travel: bright morning light at the new destination. For westward: evening light at the new destination. Both leverage the phase response curve. C) Requires medication D) Should never be done
18. The modern light inversion matters because:
A) It doesn't matter B) Modern humans get less light during the day and more light at night than the bodies' ancient circadian biology evolved for — small daily levers (morning light, evening dimming, dark sleep) partially correct the inversion C) Modern bodies have evolved for it D) Only adults notice it
19. Vigilance recognition. If a student's winter mood symptoms are persistent, interfere with school and relationships, and feel worse than mild flatness:
A) Push through alone B) Talk with a parent, school counselor, or healthcare provider — and recall that the 988 Lifeline and Crisis Text Line exist for urgent crises C) Pretend it isn't happening D) Stay indoors
20. Coach Light's main message at Grade 8 is:
A) Stare at the sun B) Light is one of the most reliable circadian levers; morning light, evening dimming, and dark sleep are small daily practices that partially correct the modern light inversion — and clinical mood concerns are doctor work, not curriculum work C) Light is unimportant D) Avoid all light
Part C — Application (30 points, 6 points each)
Write 3-5 complete sentences for each question.
21. Design a one-week morning-light practice (not a protocol) for an 8th-grader who lives in a city. It should fit real life. Include at least three specific elements and explain why each one matters.
22. Describe the modern light inversion in your own words. Why does Coach Light call it an inversion, and what does it mean for how adolescents experience light today versus how their biology evolved?
23. Use the phase response curve to explain why eastward travel is generally harder than westward travel. Use the words phase advance and phase delay in your answer.
24. Explain why Coach Light at Grade 8 does not teach you to self-treat winter mood with a light box bought online. Use the words clinical, healthcare provider, and seasonal affective disorder.
25. Vigilance recognition. A friend says their winter mood has been very dark for weeks — they have lost interest in things they used to love, are sleeping much more than usual, and sometimes don't want to leave their room. What do you say, and which resources do you mention? (988 Lifeline; Crisis Text Line text HOME to 741741; parent / school counselor / healthcare provider.)
Continue to Section I — Coach Water.