Shutterstock contributor Studio 34
For thousands of years, civilization revolved around daylight; the human body naturally rose with the sun and rested when it set. Today, humans have become heavily dependent on artificial lighting, with most people spending nearly 90 percent of their time indoors.
This makes it difficult to experience the benefits of natural light, which can affect physical health, psychological health and overall productivity.
There are many ways you can increase your sun exposure, including incorporating it into your home. In fact, 27 percent of people who renovate their homes do so to create a space with more natural lighting.
It’s important to utilize the advantages natural light can provide by finding ways to incorporate it into your daily life or you may miss out on significant benefits.
Health benefits
For starters, natural light plays a major role in regulating the circadian rhythm, the physical, mental and behavioral changes living organisms experience over a 24-hour cycle. These changes influence important functions in the body, such as sleep patterns, hormone release, appetite and digestion as well as temperature.
Although factors like food intake, stress, physical activity, social environment and external temperature can affect our circadian rhythms, light and dark have the biggest influence.
People are constantly exposed to artificial light these days, especially blue light from electronic devices, which can have negative effects on the body. Regular exposure to natural light helps realign with the natural rhythm, which includes maintaining better quality of sleep.
Better sleep also results in increased focus. There are significant links between natural light exposure and overall productivity.
Shutterstock contributor Multishooter
When it comes to the workplace, research indicates sunlight exposure can improve concentration, efficiency and morale. It is also linked to less illness and reduced absenteeism.
Sunlight is a great source for vitamin D, which is key to bone development and calcium absorption. A lack of vitamin D can lead to depression and obesity, as well as being linked to other serious conditions.
While vitamin D supplements can be helpful, natural light is still the best resource. This is because sunlight doesn’t provide vitamin D directly, but helps our bodies produce it, meaning it can’t oversupply. On the other hand, taking too much of vitamin D via a supplement can cause other issues by raising the level of calcium in the blood.
Daylight is not just beneficial to physical health, but mental health as well. Studies have found that natural light can reduce levels of agitation and stress. Inversely, lack of natural light can make us feel down, depressed, anxious, and contribute to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
SAD is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern, usually more apparent and severe during the cold, dark months of fall and winter. The prevalence of SAD and other factors that may affect our moods during the colder months – when daylight is already a limited luxury – is a further call to increase our exposure to natural light.
Bring the sunshine in
Some features can bring more sunlight into your home directly, such as skylights, sun tubes, glass doors, and (multiple) large windows. Many homes and community spaces in New Albany already take advantage of incorporating multiple windows into their design by embracing the Georgian style of architecture which features large windows and doors.
Bob Valasek
Painting walls and ceilings lighter and brighter colors, or opting for a gloss paint finish can increase its reflectivity of the light.
Incorporating glass or reflective tiles into backsplashes, and using reflective materials for surfaces such as kitchen and bathroom counters as well as adding reflective features into rooms can have similar effects.
Also beneficial could be investing in full-spectrum light bulbs, which much better mimic the wavelength of natural lighting compared to artificial lighting. Simple actions like bringing plants into your decor, cleaning your windows more often and sleeping with the blinds open can often go a long way as well.
Ella Jay is an assistant editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at ejay@cityscenemediagroup.com.
