LIGHTING
Researching dynamic lighting’s boost to health
David Navarrete, director of Research Initiatives and Professional Education at Sky Factory – a fine arts and digital technology studio that leverages Neuroaesthetics in its design framework, discusses some of the interesting research on the positive impact of dynamic lighting systems in reducing stress and burnout among healthcare staff and improving patient outcomes. Among the areas studied have been ‘the unique patterns of brain activation’ associated with exposure to photographic sky compositions (representing nature stimuli) compared with other positive, negative, and neutral images.
This article recasts the way lighting systems in healthcare estates are commonly valued. We look beyond the carbon footprint savings, and outline the demographic and human resource challenges facing Estates managers. By looking at interior lighting in its full dimension, through its essential attributes (brightness, color temperature, and spatial cognition), Estates and Facilities managers may discover new tools that can mitigate occupant distress issues through environmental design solutions that combat staff burnout, and supply emotional support to patients and their families during delays in discharge, or when bed occupation rates are high. By gaining an understanding of the more complex cognitive and biological ramifications of lighting design in clinical settings, such personnel will gain an integrated outlook on occupant wellbeing that may be instrumental in their decision-making.
Research-verified illusory skylights in the Angiography Suite at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
Beyond a carbon footprint – the spatial attributes of light The prevalent cost-benefit analysis carried out on NHS estates regarding facility lighting continues to be viewed through the lens of climate change. The costs associated with the carbon footprint that older, less efficient technologies like fluorescent fixtures exhibit can be calculated with confidence. While this calculation is valuable in helping the NHS achieve its ambitious target of reaching Net Zero emissions for those it controls directly by 2040, it is pertinent to remember that savings earned from the switch to LED fixtures are not the sole benefit.1 Even though energy costs
– which include those related to electricity, HVAC, and specialised medical equipment in high demand environments like hospitals, represent about 35% of the operating costs, both the lighting design and the quality of the lighting in clinical spaces enhance (or detract from) staff productivity.2
In
fact, the illumination in high- stress medical environments has a direct bearing on both performance and patient outcomes.
62 Health Estate Journal August 2025
Estates and Facilities managers now see a confluence of accumulating factors, many outside their control, which have made operations much more difficult. Chief among these is the maintenance backlog. According to The Health Foundation, the NHS maintenance backlog more than doubled in real terms between 2015/16 (£6.4 bn) and 2023/24 (£13.8 bn).3
This mounting delay has
placed NHS estates in dire straits, as many facilities fall into a state of disrepair and/or fail to comply with safety regulations. However, as Estates personnel await the necessary funding, re-evaluating their upgrade schedule is instrumental to identifying areas where new synergies can redress multiple pain points. Understanding the health outcomes of dynamic lighting design, in terms of fixture-based systems in conjunction with image-based installations, offers such a blueprint. After the 2024 general election, new Members of
Parliament received research briefs on key sectors of governance. The report on healthcare noted that record demand, an ageing population, and inflation, are all squeezing health and social services, and both face significant capacity issues. In England, waiting lists for hospital treatment peaked at 7.8 million people in 2023, and delays in discharge are affecting one in eight general and acute hospital beds.4
These pressures are also
prevalent in health and social care services in Scotland and Wales, with Northern Ireland facing a particularly difficult outlook. In the social sector alone, the Association of Directors
of Adult Social Services estimated that in England around 250,000 people were waiting for a care assessment in August 2023.4
Furthermore, the NHS faces a productivity
challenge. Despite staff increases to meet soaring patient demand, NHS hospital productivity in 2023/24 remained about 10% lower than its pre-pandemic level (2019),4
and while tracking staff performance depends
on what variables are measured, it is apparent that staff burnout and high turnover, as well as higher rates of bed occupation (up to 90% in recent years) – often associated with poorer quality of care and outcomes, all contribute to a more volatile and stressful environment of care.4
Demographic shifts Furthermore, many of the prevalent dislocations in the healthcare system emerge from significant demographic shifts. Added to this are an ageing infrastructure, macroeconomic shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic, and disruptions to energy supply chains, all of which compound the issues. However, understanding the
Sky Factory
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