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Get Your Light Right for a Healthy House
Homes that are too bright at night and too dark during the day are ruining our health. Here's what you can do
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering technology and culture. http://elgan.com
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger,... More »
We tend to think of lighting choices as a matter of personal preference, something that’s part of the lamp-shopping checklist. But it turns out that the most important lighting decisions have nothing to do with lamps. And lighting decisions can actually make or break your family’s health, happiness and well-being.
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In fact, recent science has discovered that making the right lighting decisions in your home could even protect you and your loved ones from degraded eyesight, depression, weight gain, cancer and a host of other problems.
This ideabook contains bright ideas for optimizing the light in your home, not just for aesthetics but for improving the overall quality of your and your family’s lives.
This ideabook contains bright ideas for optimizing the light in your home, not just for aesthetics but for improving the overall quality of your and your family’s lives.
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First, the benefits of darkness
Multiple studies demonstrate that sleeping in a less-than-dark room can harm your health.
The American Medical Association last month issued a policy advisement saying that "exposure to excessive light at night, including extended use of various electronic media, can disrupt sleep or exacerbate sleep disorders, especially in children and adolescents." This is particularly true of devices that emit “blue” light, such as TV screens and touch tablets. Also:
TV, video games and eBook reading just before sleep are bad. Light coming in from outside at night is bad. Gadget lights on everything you own are bad. Night-lights are bad.
What should you do about all this light?
Block outside light with good shades. Don’t read on a screen or watch TV just before going to bed. If you’re going to use an eBook reader before bed, choose the kind that requires an external light source. Unplug or cover with electrical tape all those little status lights on electronic products.
If your children truly need a night-light, one option is a product that fades to black after the kids are asleep. The Glo light from Boon (first photo) is a fun option, for example. The light illuminates glow-in-the-dark balls, which can be removed and put into bed with the kids if they want. They have a night-light, but only for a short time. The balls fade gradually, allowing kids to fall asleep with a light but later sleep in darkness.
The bottom line is that the health and happiness of you and your family will generally benefit by sleeping in total darkness, and it’s important to do as much as you can to darken rooms during sleep.
Multiple studies demonstrate that sleeping in a less-than-dark room can harm your health.
The American Medical Association last month issued a policy advisement saying that "exposure to excessive light at night, including extended use of various electronic media, can disrupt sleep or exacerbate sleep disorders, especially in children and adolescents." This is particularly true of devices that emit “blue” light, such as TV screens and touch tablets. Also:
- Researchers from the Ohio State University Medical Center found that sleeping in a dimly lit room can lead to depression and weight gain.
- Scientists at the University of Haifa in Israel found a “clear and strong” correlation between women who live in areas that are not dark at night to an increased risk of breast cancer.
- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers found that night-lights in children’s rooms could predispose them to myopia, or nearsightedness.
TV, video games and eBook reading just before sleep are bad. Light coming in from outside at night is bad. Gadget lights on everything you own are bad. Night-lights are bad.
What should you do about all this light?
Block outside light with good shades. Don’t read on a screen or watch TV just before going to bed. If you’re going to use an eBook reader before bed, choose the kind that requires an external light source. Unplug or cover with electrical tape all those little status lights on electronic products.
If your children truly need a night-light, one option is a product that fades to black after the kids are asleep. The Glo light from Boon (first photo) is a fun option, for example. The light illuminates glow-in-the-dark balls, which can be removed and put into bed with the kids if they want. They have a night-light, but only for a short time. The balls fade gradually, allowing kids to fall asleep with a light but later sleep in darkness.
The bottom line is that the health and happiness of you and your family will generally benefit by sleeping in total darkness, and it’s important to do as much as you can to darken rooms during sleep.
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| Let there be light! The previous section on sleeping in darkness is all about your eyes expecting a lack of light at night as a biological necessity. But the same goes for daytime. Just as your eyes expect darkness at night, they expect sunlight during the day. Australian National University researchers have explained radically divergent rates of childhood nearsightedness to the amount of direct sun exposure received by the kids. They found, for example, that nearly 90 percent of children in Singapore have myopia and spend an average of 30 minutes outside every day. Children in Australia, however, suffer from much lower rates of myopia — just 10 percent — but spend an average of three hours outdoors each day. Scientists believe that developing eyes in young children need the body to produce dopamine, which is triggered by direct sunlight going into the eyes. Meanwhile, there’s an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency in part because people aren’t getting enough direct sunlight. As many as three-quarters of the teen and adult populations in the United States may be deficient in this vitamin. This is bad, because vitamin D deficiency has been linked with increased risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's and other diseases. Part of our sun deficiency is related to fear of skin cancer. However, what people should fear is any degree of sunburn. According to the Vitamin D Council, your body gets all the exposure it needs for health long before the skin starts to redden. So getting sun in small, frequent doses is healthier and less risky than avoiding the sun part of the year, then getting occasionally sunburned. The takeaway here is that most people living outside the tropics just aren’t getting enough sunshine. And the best way to get sun is in small doses very frequently. Let the sun shine in This fact can inform our decision making about home design and home investment. For example, where to invest on home improvement? Retile the bathroom or install skylights? Buy an expensive new TV and home-entertainment system or playground equipment in the backyard? Replace a wall with drywall or floor-to-ceiling glass windows? Add a pool table or a pool? One interesting possible upgrade is a “smart" skylight called the Ciralight Suntracker. With a typical skylight, a patch of sunlight is cast on the floor or wall of your home, and moves throughout the day as the sun moves. The Suntracker uses GPS, and mirrors track the sun throughout the day and bounce it directly down onto a diffuser. So as long as the sun is up, the skylight is capturing all available sunlight and beaming it into the house in a way that maximizes light. Most Ciralight customers are industrial or retail companies, but the company also offers home installation. The price is about $1,100 to adapt a commercial unit for a residence, and they're working on a 2-foot-square model for homes (price to be announced). Science is telling us that lighting decisions can have far-ranging consequences for our happiness and well-being. Investing in darker nights and sunnier days may be the brightest idea for your family’s health. More: Tubular Daylighting Devices Bring in Natural Light Boost Your Energy With Natural Light |
Ideabook published on Aug. 7, 2012.
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Is it possible to put a dark liner behind honeycomb shades, that can be raised in the morning and lowered at night? If not, is there something like a two-layer shade, or liners that work behind another kind of shade?
I have done a search of the net and unfortunately these seem to be one of those rare products that we can get in Australia but is not available in the US. Maybe using these examples you could look into someone making one for you. Generally speaking the light coloured blind gives privacy and light while still enabling you to see out while the darker one blocks out light and heat, or cold.
The Vitamin D3 deficiency is becoming of concern here now, because of our high levels of skin cancer the Government brought out a "slip, slop, slap" campaign some years ago to make people more aware of the dangers of long hours lying on the beach or generally being out in the sun unprotected. It worked too well, people really covered up and piled on the sunscreen to the point we are now not getting enough sun and D3 deficiencies are increasing. If it is necessary to take D3 the liquid form is far more effective than tablet form and 2,000 IU in summer and possibly 4,000 in winter should be enough - 10,000 sounds like someone has shares in a vitamin company.
We'll be installing a Solatube in our bathroom as part of our remodel. Love the Circalight Suntracker that you mentioned! Wish it were ready for home installation.
nrglawyer - I have a wide window with an arched section in the middle, in the MBR .. difficult to cover. I got Hunter-Douglas Silhouette sheer fabric blinds .. but they don’t cover the circular top of the window. So when there’s a full moon, I get the light right in that bare spot; not to mention from the skylight in the bathroom! I’ve seen ways they cover it by creating a fabric “fan”, but it didn’t seem worth it to me; these blinds are expensive to start with!
I bought amber plexiglass to put over my TV and desktop so the blue light doesn't keep me up. I even put a bit of yellow film over the astonishingly bright blue LEDs on my bedside clock.
From what I have read, virtually no one gets the right amount of D. Maybe in Spain, if you are out at night. With the thinning of the ozone hole, skin cancer concerns are increasing, so tthe need for 1000 mg a day of D3 is real. People were prescribing 2,000, but some recent studies questioned that.
When we called the manufacturer, they said the cords were guaranteed and they probably needed to be restrung. All we had to do was send take them down, send them back and pay shipping both ways. We have 20 large windows. No way can we take them down and pay to have their "free" warranty work done. Although a great concept, there is no way to lock them into the darkening position, so they are practically useless and double the price. Really disappointing and very frustrating.
Zidog - no, I'm not paranoid just have a warped sense of humour. D3 deficiencies are definitely becoming an issue because of the health problems it can cause and we can only follow advice we are given and, like everything, that seems to change regularly as new research results come to light. It does seem strange that some areas in the world have more problems than others, wonder if pollution might have something to do with it. My doctor also takes into account the effect of overuse of vitamins and supplements on the kidneys and the risk of kidney disorders or damage. I don't think we are ever meant to win. Have your naturopaths mentioned anything about tablet v. liquid form of D3? I have been taking tablets for several years now and, not having any significant results and on the advice of a dietician, have now started taking the liquid form. Will know at the end of the year when I have my next blood test if it makes a difference.
However, reading from a screen just before going to bed is fine, as long as it's an e-ink screen.
On a general note, I cut off the top five inches of a pair of black pantyhose and slip it over my digital clock at night. It really cuts down on the emitted light, and you can still see the time just enough.