{"id":203,"date":"2014-07-28T09:38:16","date_gmt":"2014-07-28T13:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=203"},"modified":"2015-09-22T11:10:41","modified_gmt":"2015-09-22T15:10:41","slug":"light-and-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=203","title":{"rendered":"Light and Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

The DOE has recently published a fact sheet titled Lighting for Health: LEDs in the New Age of Illumination<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 It summarizes the Trends in Neuroscience<\/em> January 2014 article Measuring and Using Light in the Melanopsin Age<\/a>.\u00a0 Both publications explain the current understanding of our visual and nonvisual response to light.<\/p>\n

The basics of our visual response to light is understood by everyone \u2013 it gives us the ability to see.\u00a0 The nonvisual response is less known generally, and is still being researched by scientists across the globe.\u00a0 This is discussed in my book in Chapter 16 Light and Health<\/em>.\u00a0 What we have learned in the past two decades is that there is a third type of light sensitive cell in our eyes (the first two being rods and cones) called the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell (ipRGC).\u00a0 When light strikes the ipRGC a pigment called melanopsin breaks down, sending a signal to the brain.\u00a0 That signal doesn\u2019t go to the visual cortex, however, but to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) the body\u2019s timekeeper.\u00a0 The SCN regulates circadian rhythms and the production of hormones affecting alertness, heart rate, blood pressure, stress response, and more.\u00a0 The SCN is reset by information from the ipRGCs.\u00a0 Simple exposure to light, though, is not enough. The exposure time of day, duration, and wavelengths all contribute to proper synchronization. SCN regulation seems to be maintained by high brightness, short wavelength light in the morning (i.e., morning daylight). If appropriate stimulation does not occur, the timing signals for hormone production can become desynchronized. It is known that circadian desynchronization plays a roll in insomnia, mood, depression, reaction time, creativity, and alertness. It is suspected that this desynchronization also plays a roll in cancer, diabetes, dementia, and cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n

This has lead to some talk of light as a drug that controls the SCN.\u00a0 At this point it is probably premature to attempt to apply this information in most lighting designs because most spaces have a wide range of users with a similarly wide range of needs.\u00a0 A lighting design for the overnight shift, for example, may not work well for the day shift.\u00a0 There are a few rules of thumb that can be applied in specific circumstances.\u00a0 For example, a designer can minimize the nonvisual circadian response by limiting the amount of light, especially short wavelength light, reaching the eye.\u00a0 However, the science is still in the early days and the specifics about the effect of light level, spectral distribution, and timing on users and for various applications are not clear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The DOE has recently published a fact sheet titled Lighting for Health: LEDs in the New Age of Illumination.\u00a0\u00a0 It summarizes the Trends in Neuroscience January 2014 article Measuring and Using Light in the Melanopsin Age.\u00a0 Both publications explain the current understanding of our visual and nonvisual response to light. The basics of our visual … Continue reading Light and Health<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-light-and-health"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4gZSw-3h","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":681,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=681","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":0},"title":"Lighting For Plant Health","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"February 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I have a current project with a green wall, aka living wall, and other greenery in the space. I\u2019ve been given conflicting information about the lighting requirements I need to meet are and how to measure them, so I did some research. This isn\u2019t definitive, but here\u2019s what I\u2019ve found.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Design"","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/designinglight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/VLambda-300x227.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2910,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=2910","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":1},"title":"CCT Doesn’t Predict Circadian Impact","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"January 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Two of my IES Color Committee friends and colleagues, Tony Esposito and Kevin Houser, have just published a paper in Scientific Reports that looks at the common assumption that CCT can be used to assess circadian entrainment and other biological impacts of light. The assumption by many is that high\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Calculations"","block_context":{"text":"Calculations","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":692,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=692","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":2},"title":"LRC Responds to AMA on LEDs","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"March 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"You may remember that in June of last year the American Medical Association (AMA) released a report called \u201cHuman and Environmental Effects of Light Emitting Diode (LED) Community Lighting.\u201d The report made some noise in the general press because it supported the idea that blue light from blue-pump white LEDs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Color"","block_context":{"text":"Color","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":223,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=223","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":3},"title":"Circadian Lighting","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"October 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent article in The Wall Street Journal discussed the possibilities and benefits of lighting systems that shift color to mimic the changes in daylight. It\u2019s a complicated subject so it\u2019s not surprising that some of what\u2019s reported is inaccurate, so let me clarify a few things. First, our current\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"ipRGC (black), rod (blue), and cone (red) sensitivity curves","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/designinglight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/VLambda-phot-scot-circ-300x254.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":255,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=255","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":4},"title":"Measuring the Value of Lighting Design","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"November 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently published a short video in which LRC director Mark S. Rea discusses the costs and benefits of lighting. Here it is. \u00a0 \u00a0 If you set aside the plugs for the LRC, his statements, and those in his book Value Metrics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Design"","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":274,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=274","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":5},"title":"Light & Health Seminar","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"January 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York City chapter of the IES will host a presentation by\u00a0Mariana Figueiro\u00a0and\u00a0Leora Radetsky\u00a0of the Lighting Research Center titled\u00a0\"Swimming in an Ocean of Light: Using Light for Health and Well-being.\" \u00a0The program will include\u00a0the IES Light and Health seminar, which they co-authored, as well as updated material with recent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Design"","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}