No one likes getting up in the dark during the cold winter months, but getting enough natural light can actively combat negative psychological wellbeing. Studies have found that improved access to natural light can reduce levels of agitation and stress. The case is clear for the fact that getting more sunlight simply makes us feel better.
Health Benefits of Natural Light
As a general rule, most of us would prefer to live out our lives under the warmth of the sun rather than under the buzz and glare of fluorescent bulbs. In fact, a recent survey, as reported by The Harvard Business Review, confirms just how much natural light means to the average person.
Your inner clock that tells you when to sleep and when to be awake is triggered by light and darkness. Go with too little or too much of one or the other and your circadian rhythm will be thrown out of whack, putting your precious sleep-time in peril. In at least one study, people who were exposed to more natural light slept an average of 46 minutes more per night.
A recent study at Cornell showed workers exposed to natural light experienced an 84 percent drop in issues such as headaches, eyestrain, and blurred vision. Because those symptoms can lead to increased fatigue, workers exposed to less natural light were more susceptible to other health issues.
The World Green Building Council says workers feel more engaged when they work in natural light. And being engaged means they are more likely to stay focused on their tasks. Also, they are more likely to collaborate with other team members. More engagement and increased collaboration results in more productivity and success.
Office space with ample natural lighting is more appealing to potential tenants. In fact, such office space is known to lease for two to four dollars per square foot more than an office space with little or no natural lighting. One study indicated natural light makes a space seem more open and inviting, which induces a prospective tenant to pay more. Not only does space with a natural light deficit lease for less, it tends to remain on the market longer than its sunny counterparts.
Now, a large new study continues to connect time spent outdoors to improved mental health and sleep. Conducted in Great Britain and published last December in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the research analyzes data gathered from 500,000 women and men between 37 and 73 years old. The individuals included in the study reported that they spend about 2.5 hours outdoors each day. Using medical information and outcomes about the group, researchers found that each additional hour spent outside in natural light was linked to a corresponding decrease in the risk of developing long-term depression. They also saw reduced use of antidepressants, as well as self-reported improvements to mood and general feelings of happiness. An interesting aspect of these findings is that while they were tied to increases in the time spent outdoors in daylight, the results proved to be independent of other variables such as lifestyle and social or economic status.
Have you ever noticed a positive shift in your mood as you walk outdoors or into a bright and sunny room? If so, you are not the only one! Believe it or not, spending time in natural light has proven to have a positive impact on personal health in a variety of ways. So, this begs the question, if there are so many positives to basking in the sunshine and such importance of natural light, why are we not taking advantage of this natural resource? The answer likely lies in our daily routines and our current home and building designs.
The good news is that this much-needed reset might be easier to achieve than we think. As we become more conscious of the benefits linked with healthy doses of sunshine, we are getting creative with the ways that natural light can be incorporated into our work and home spaces. For example, many businesses and homeowners are opting to add more windows, such as skylights, into their building designs. Another avenue gaining popularity is a process called daylighting, which works by providing a natural source of light indoors and has the potential to cut down on electrical energy costs. With options like this now on the market, these proposed investments are becoming quite feasible and allow us to incorporate natural light into our homes and reap the benefits that come with it.
While it is important to be cautious of the amount of time you are spending in the sun to avoid overexposure, it is suggested that spending a few minutes in direct sunlight each day is sufficient time for our bodies to synthesize a healthy amount of Vitamin D. Increasing our intake may significantly reduce the risk of developing other ailments in the long run that have been linked to Vitamin D deficiencies. Some of these ailments include some forms of cancer, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, hypertension, and some cardiac abnormalities.
In terms of our day to day routines, increased exposure to sunlight early in the day can also aid in a more restful sleep at night. The earlier in the morning we are exposed to sunlight, the sooner our melatonin production stops, helping keep our natural circadian rhythm on a proper cycle. Melatonin is not only important for regulating our sleep cycles, but it is also shown to play a part in battling infection, inflammation, and auto-immunity according to some reviews. Believe it or not, melatonin is not the only hormone in our body with production that can be affected by the sun.
Studies show that on sunnier days our brains produce more of the hormone serotonin which is our natural antidepressant. Through research, it is found that a lack of serotonin production and sunlight contributes to the development of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Those diagnosed with SAD are more prone to experiencing signs of depression during winter months where natural sun exposure goes down. A cross-study examining the role sunlight has on our cognitive function in depressed and non-depressed individuals found there was a link between lower cognitive impairment and higher doses of sunlight.
In yet another study, it is discussed how natural light makes for a more alert and productive workplace. Productivity jumped approximately two percent when an employee was placed close to a window that allowed for natural sunlight exposure. In terms of personal health, the study also found that symptoms related to eyestrain dropped by over eighty percent when workers were placed in environments that utilized more natural light sources.
From providing us with Vitamin D, promoting melatonin production, regulating our circadian rhythms, boosting our mood, and increasing our productivity, the benefits to natural sunlight exposure are ample and not to be overlooked.
While natural light provides an array of benefits for personal health, it can also be highly advantageous to home and office spaces when it comes to reducing overall energy consumption. It costs a pretty penny to keep our spaces heated, air-conditioned, and well lit for hours on end. Luckily, as we become more aware of ways to utilize natural light, there is ample opportunity to save money while improving our health and daily productivity simultaneously.
So why is natural light so important? There are many reasons why we crave and need natural light in our homes and day-to-day lives. For one reason, a windowless room can throw off any feng shui and have the opposite intended affect of our interior decorating.
The use of natural light has also been proven to produce tremendous health benefits. The power of natural light has a long list of benefits; from the way our bodies work on a daily basis to our mental and physical well-being.
Seasonal Affective Disorder, more commonly known by its all too appropriate acronym, SAD, is a condition that describes the feeling of listlessness during the winter season. This sluggishness that takes over our bodies and minds during the cold, dark couple of months in the winter is due to the lack of exposure to natural light.
Many scientists hypothesize that serotonin, a chemical in our brain that is linked to our mood, is very much affected by natural light. Even on colder days in the winter, natural light still curb depressive feelings.
A separate study that followed over 100 different employees and workers measured the amount of light they were exposed to throughout the day. The results were impressive when it came to how this exposure to natural light aided in their well-being.
The employees that were exposed to morning light from first thing in the morning to noon slept better. They reported that they fell asleep faster than the workers who were not exposed to as much natural light, and they also slept through the night without waking up nearly as much.
It goes without saying that windows allow us to enjoy as much natural light as possible while still being indoors. In many instances, you can never have to many windows in a home with all the benefits that receiving natural light begets.
The benefits of natural light and windows will also help boost the curb appeal of your home, aside from all of the other countless benefits sunlight provides. A better curb appeal means the more value in your home, and this is especially helpful with newer windows that keep in the energy and keep out the elements.
For most of human history, sunlight, moonlight, and the glow of fire were the only sources of light available. With the advent of electricity in the 19th century and the rise of screens in recent decades, our relationship to natural light has changed drastically. Our bodies and brains have evolved to respond to sunlight in a variety of ways, many of which are disrupted by electric lighting driving away nighttime darkness and the omnipresent glare of screens replacing time under the sun.
The importance of light on health is further demonstrated through its therapeutic effects. Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and other types of depression have been shown to be effectively reduced by both natural and artificial light therapy [14,15,16,17]. Before the discovery of antibiotics, sunlight played a significant role in infection control and preventing the spread of disease in buildings [18,19]. Even today, forms of artificial light are effectively being used in hospital settings to reduce infection transmission [20,21]. 2ff7e9595c
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