the importance of daylight 1

DAYLIGHT AND HEALTH

NATURAL LIGHT IS UNDOUBTEDLY MORE PLEASANT AND DESIRABLE THAN ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. THIS FIRST SECTION OF THE SERIES OF POSTS "THE IMPORTANCE OF DAYLIGHT" OUTLINES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE ADEQUATE AND COMFORTABLE USE OF DAYLIGHT IN ARCHITECTURE.

TO START WITH, THE CYCLICAL VARIETY OF LIGHT CONDITIONS (ALTERNATION OF DAY AND NIGHT) GIVES A SENSE OF TIME AND ORIENTATION TO HUMAN BEINGS, STIMULATING AND REGULATING THEIR BIORHYTHM AND HORMONAL DISTRIBUTION. FOR INSTANCE, THE ILLUMINATION LEVEL, THE EXTENT OF EXPOSURE AND THE SPECTRAL COMPOSITION OF THE LIGHT STRIKING THE RETINA, ALL OF WHICH CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE DAY, DETERMINE THE SECRETION OF MELATONIN (SLEEP HORMONE). ANOTHER BENEFIT FOR HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY IS THAT ULTRAVIOLET SUNLIGHT ACTIVATES THE SKIN’S PRODUCTION OF VITAMIN D.

EXPOSURE TO NATURAL LIGHT INCREASES HUMAN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HENCE CONTRIBUTES TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE, MOTIVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY, CRUCIAL IN WORK AND STUDY ENVIRONMENTS. BOTH POORLY LIT AND EXCESSIVELY LIT SPACES, ON THE OTHER HAND, LEAD TO FATIGUE OF THE EYES AND BRAIN, CAUSING FREQUENT ACCIDENTS AND ERRORS.

NOT ONLY THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT, BUT ALSO ITS QUALITY, AFFECTS VISUAL AND GENERAL PERFORMANCE, AND HERE LIES ONE OF THE GREATEST ADVANTAGES OF DAYLIGHT IN RELATION TO ELECTRICAL LIGHT. THE LATTER’S CONSTANCY AND UNIFORMITY CAN ALSO RESULT IN TIREDNESS AND LACK OF ATTENTION. IT IS VERY HARD TO REPRODUCE THE QUALITY OF DAYLIGHT WITH ARTIFICIAL SOURCES, MAINLY ITS WIDE SPECTRAL COMPOSITION AND VARYING COLOUR TEMPERATURES.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, NATURAL LIGHT HAS THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES, REDUCING STRESS AND FEAR. SPECIALLY IF ASSOCIATED WITH VIEWS OUT, ALLOWING PEOPLE TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH NATURE AND THE CITYSCAPE, THE OPTIMIZED PROVISION OF DAYLIGHT INTO BUILDINGS IS A POWERFUL STRATEGY TO HELP HEALING PATIENTS IN HOSPITALS OR, IN GENERAL BUILDINGS, JUST MAINTAIN A HEALTHY PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE OF THE OCCUPANTS. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF SUNLIGHT FOR GENERAL WELL-BEING BECOMES EVIDENT WHERE PEOPLE ARE DEPRIVED OF IT. IN CONTRAST TO TROPICAL COUNTRIES, IN HIGHER LATITUDES APPROXIMATELY 70% OF THE POPULATION ARE AFFECTED BY MINOR DEPRESSIVE MOOD VARIATIONS AND AROUND 3% OF THE POPULATION SUFFER FROM SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER - SAD, A CHRONIC DEPRESSION, DURING WINTER. REGARDLESS OF THE LATITUDE, SPACES WITH INSUFFICIENT NATURAL LIGHT HAVE BROUGHT CONSEQUENCES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: FOR EXAMPLE, LACK OF DAYLIGHT IS THE SECOND MAIN CAUSE OF SICK BUILDING SYNDROME - SBS.

REFERENCES

ANDER, GREGG D, DAYLIGHTING PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN (NEW YORK: VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD, 1995)

   

AUGUSTESEN, CHRISTINA ET AL., LIGHTING DESIGN: PRINCIPLES, IMPLEMENTATION, CASE STUDIES, ED. BY NICOLA KOLLMANN AND CHRISTINA SCHULZ (BASEL: BIRKHAUSER, 2006) 

FURTHER READING

"DESIGNING FOR AUTISM: LIGHTING" IN ARCHDAILY.COM