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Our circadian rhythm is affected by light and, of course, that includes daylight sunlight.
Work and life inside has been adopted more and more over time. We are no longer outside all day and in for a smattering of candlelight and darkness.
Therefore, the lighting of internal architecture for life and work has become a key component of creating environments for healthy life and work.
Interior lighting does have a significant impact on physical and mental wellbeing.
There is, of course, published guidance and some regulation about the particular requirements for lighting at work.
Our body clock has been invaded by lighting that conditions our myopic nerve and in turn affects our ability to both perform, relax and ultimately sleep.
Lighting that can alter the conditions is key, being best at copying our sun’s daily rhythm, gradually warming from cool during the day to being very warm late at night to precondition for ideal sleep.
The dominance of bright white light screens in our lives does not help.
Saying that a workspace needs effective interior lighting design for it to function can at times sound like a statement so obviously and evidently true that it does not need to be stated.
However, there is more to designing the lighting in a space than the implied truism that a person needs light to see, and lighting is critical for a lot of reasons beyond the most obvious.
Seasonal affective disorder or sick building syndrome has become a problem associated with inadequate and inappropriate lighting, ventilation and maintenance.
Lighting can affect people physically in several different ways, but the two primary effects take the form of eye strain and effects on our circadian rhythm.
For most people working with computer screens, a degree of eye strain is quite common, particularly if someone is focused on a task for a particularly long time, but it can be exacerbated by sharp contrasts between the bright light of a computer screen and the ambient lighting of the space.
This is why it is important to avoid overly intense overhead lighting whilst focused on a computer screen task, as well as designing your lighting system and overall interior design to reduce glare where possible.
Whilst research continues to determine the full effects of circadian rhythms on the body and how they can be disrupted, according to the Sleep Foundation they can be connected to metabolism, blood sugar, DNA repair procedures and other physical health symptoms.
Lighting can be associated with its effects on our mental wellbeing, primarily because it is easier to see the immediate effects of lighting on a person’s mood compared to the longer-term effects of light on people’s neurology and physiology.
Part of the mental health effects come from biological and physiological causes; the circadian rhythm manages the production of serotonin, noradrenaline and melatonin at different points of the day.
The former two are chemicals that affect a person’s energy levels, mood and overall mental outlook, to the point that a lack of it is theorised to be a cause of seasonal affective disorder. Serotonin is also connected to appetite and therefore dietary choices.
The latter hormone affects how tired a person feels and has been linked to depression and has also been linked to DNA repair and healing during the night.
Lighting also helps us focus. Being prone to distraction or struggling to focus caused by inadequate or improper lighting can be a root cause.