You might be surprised by the amount of importance being placed on the presence of natural light. The more that is discovered about the sun’s effect on the human body, the more that the need for natural light is realised, whether it’s in your home or your workplace. Recent findings from a Future Workplace study of over 1,600 employees revealed that views of the outdoors and natural light were ranked as the top desire in a workplace environment.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you need natural light to brighten up your life.
Physical Health
The first perk of more natural light that might come to mind is improved physical health. It’s common knowledge that we all need natural doses of vitamin D for good health, and that’s where natural light comes in. It would be difficult to get vitamin D strictly from your diet, so sunlight is our primary source of the essential nutrient. Getting your fill of vitamin D from natural light each day can provide a number of key health benefits.
For starters, vitamin D can minimise the amount of bone loss experienced, especially for older people. It has also been associated with a lower risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as being beneficial for your eyes. For those working in offices on computers during the day, a space with optimised natural light was associated with a drop in symptoms of headaches, eye strain and blurred vision.
Natural light is also a major key to supporting good sleep habits. In one particular study of office workers, it was found that natural light exposure was associated with a better sleep experience. Allowing the sun to act as your morning alarm rather than relying on a phone or alarm clock will help you to more easily get your circadian rhythm in proper sync.
Mental Health
In addition to your physical health, natural light can potentially be beneficial for your mental health. “Winter blues” and serious depressive disorders, such as Seasonal Affective Disorder, tend to occur during the colder, darker months of autumn and winter. Getting more natural light into your daily routine and boosting your vitamin D levels can be a major asset during these periods.
How to Add More Natural Light to Your Life
Now that we’ve established how beneficial natural light is for your mind and body, let’s look at how you can get more of it into your home or office.
A good starting point is to ensure that all heavy, light-blocking curtains are open during the day to allow the maximum amount of light to enter your home or workplace.
You could also try adding a mirror in areas that often get sunlight. Placing a mirror across from a window will reflect the natural light that enters the room adding extra light to the room. People with a keen eye for design may take this a step further and use decor items with a metallic shine around the room, like brass or silver.
Adding a skylight to your home or office is another great way to add natural light into your daily routine. At Solatube, our tubular skylights allow for maximum light output without heat gain. The addition of a skylight will not only benefit your health but it will make for an extraordinary daylight-filled space in your home or office.
We can brighten your home or workspace with quick, effective and simple skylight installation. Highest performance guaranteed with 2-hour installation by a Certified Solatube Installation Consultant.
To learn more about how you can add daylight into your life and improve the amount of daylight in your home or office, contact the team of daylighting specialists at Solatube. Call us or your local premier Solatube dealer – such as Skylights Sydney – to discuss your options today!