Lighting
Workplace wellbeing secrets
Tarja Jokiniem, marketing manager for solutions and services at intelligent and energy-saving lighting solutions specialist Helvar, shares her tips on how to outsmart the winter blues with lighting.
Lighting lifts the mood
As many studies show, light affects complex systems that govern the 24-hour circadian clock in the brain, which regulates not just our sleep-wake cycles, but also hormonal activity, digestion, and other important bodily functions. Lighting has a direct impact on our brain and our hormone balance via the retina in our eyes, even for blind people.
If we don’t receive enough light, the happiness neurotransmitter serotonin isn’t released to the same extent. While this can be just a transitory case of the winter blues (with cravings for sweets or a temporary disruption in our sleep schedule), for some it’s a sign of seasonal affective disorder (abbreviated SAD) with symptoms similar to depression (such as feeling sad, listless, sluggish, or
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having difficulties concentrating). Studies suggest that 20% of us might experience a mild version of the winter blues, while 1-5% might be suffering from SAD due to the shortening in day length and lower light intensity.
Pay attention to Zeitgebers Zeitgebers are cues – cyclic or recurring patterns such as light-dark or warm-cold – given by the environment that reset our circadian rhythm and keep organisms functioning on a regular schedule throughout the day and night. The most potent cue of all is light. Our mood and energy depend upon getting sufficient bright light and enough contrast between the morning’s bright, intense blue light and the evening’s delicate warm hues to signal ‘awake and alert’ as well as ‘tired and
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