How lighting can impact your health & wellbeing.
Human Centric Lighting
Technology develops because of human needs, and it raises new needs of human. Because of our desire for brightness and fear of darkness, artificial lights came along. Due to limitation of technologies, the original pursuit of artificial lights was illumination. Nowadays, as lighting technologies (especially LED lighting technologies) bloom, artificial lights are not just about illumination anymore, they are more about atmosphere, experience, and lifestyle. In recent years, we have received more and more publicity about human centric light (HLC). However, what is exact HCL?
(HCL) extends the concept of biologically effective lighting to a holistic planning and includes the visual, emotional and biological effects of light. HCL supports the long term health, well-being and performance of humans. This is achieved by dimming the smart light source, most likely an LED, to mimic the levels of sunlight throughout the day.
Light is the most powerful regulator of the Human Circadian Rhythm
The development and maturity of LED lighting technology provides a solid technical foundation for fulfilling “healthy lighting”. At present, tunable white LED lighting technology has been recognized as the best technical solution for "health lighting". The best "Office lighting" artificial light source is not only to achieve variable color temperature, but more importantly, it can achieve as close as possible to the sunlight as within the tunable CCT range.
The activities of humans.
beings are closely related to the laws of the movement of the sun. Under the influence of the sun in thousands of years, we gradually form the circadian rhythm of "Work from dawn to dusk". With the development of society and the advancement of technology, the concept of artificial lighting with the aim of “eliminating the darkness and bringing light” is gradually changing towards to “healthy lighting”. Especially for those who cannot enjoy natural light bathing during work, working environment with healthy lighting experience is expected.
Light can assist our alertness and Concentration
Blue light stimulates the brain to be active. In the whole day, we always have the best mental state between 10 and 12 o'clock. This is the result of our biological clock regulating, and it is also the result of human evolution in the long-term under the law of solar activity. Between 10 and 12 o'clock, rich of blue light exists in the sunlight, and the color temperature is measured to be around 6000 K. That is to say, artificial light with a CCT around 6000 K will help us to concentrate during the work time.
LIght also helps
us fall asleep. Research by Harvard medical school shows that blue light has the effect of stimulating our brain, but at night, too much blue light can affect us fall asleep. Now, we can't get used to the night without artificial lighting, but we can choose a warm light source without too much blue light. Warm white is suitable at night to reduce the impact on our sleep by artificial lighting. The white light of 2700 K is the best choice for our night lighting.
In conclusion, with so many external influences affecting our daily lives, a lighting system, such as circadian lighting, isn’t going to single-handedly provide an answer to the question of designing for wellbeing. But it definitely could be part of the solution.
Ultimately, harnessing our understanding of light’s physiological impacts in an ethical and considered way will help us create truly beautiful spaces that support a healthy, social, and happy society.
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