Specialty and Architectural Lighting — Health

As we age, our visual acuity naturally deteriorates. This process starts around age 40. After that, normal changes to the aging eye become increasingly noticeable and potentially life changing. By the time people reach their sixties, seventies, eighties or older, their vision challenges may cause both difficulty in performing basic daily tasks such as reading and eating as well as pose a mobility safety hazard. The human perception of lower light levels may also affect...

If you live in the Chicagoland area, you may have forgotten what the sun looks like. According to the Chicago Sun Times (no pun intended), this has been the gloomiest December on record. The sun has been out only 18% of the time between sunshine and sunset between December 1 and December 20. In fact, there has been no sunshine, other than 18 minutes, since December 12. Why is this a problem? The reason is...

You'd think, after 4.6 billion years of existence, the sun would get some respect. But the importance of the sun's light has long been ignored as a key factor for human health and well being. Maybe, because incandescent bulbs were cheap and effective for much of the twentieth century, mimicking the light from the sun wasn't a priority. With incandescent bulbs disappearing in favor of the much more versatile LEDs, however, light health is growing...

This article examines the many health benefits of human exposure to full spectrum light, otherwise known as daylight simulating light sources. Psychological Most people prefer daylight from windows and skylights to electric light. Daylight gives people a positive feeling and can help improve mood and motivation. Because "full spectrum" light bulbs produce the appearance of white or bluish-white light and because they also produce a higher perception of brightness, there is often a positive association...

Can certain types of light keep you awake at night? Obviously, too much light of any type WILL prevent you from falling asleep, but a little light from the streetlights outside, your television, or even your cell phone can also make it difficult to fall into a deep sleep. This can result in waking up feeling groggy and tired, despite having "slept" for 7 or 8 hours straight! Let's look at the science behind light...

With the arrival of Spring and sunnier skies, it is worth a reminder about the power and harmful effects of ultraviolet light. Sunlight contains both UVA and UVB radiation. These are invisible wavelengths beyond the blue end of the electromagnetic spectrum. UVA, the tanning (and skin wrinkling) portion of the spectrum, is often mistakenly regarded as less harmful than UVB rays. It is true that UVB packs more energy than UVA. Unprotected skin will burn,...