The Science Behind Lighting

In the Glazing and Comfort Podcast (via the Building Science Podcast) with Matthew Tanteri and Kristoff Irwin, lighting expert Tanteri discusses the effects of lighting quality on our bodies.

As you may or may not know, lighting changes throughout the day. In layman’s terms it can be bluish sometimes and other time it can be yellowy red. Did you know though that these different lighting colors can have an effect on our bodies?

Typically indoor lighting mimics the sun. It’s bright and blue and allows our houses and offices to be well lit. towards the evening, these bright lights can actually effect our sleep schedule. Bright blue light typically allows our bodies to realize that it’s morning and allows us to wake up. In the evening, our minds and our eyes are tricked into thinking that it’s still daylight and can stop the production of melatonin which allows us to sleep well. Red light and the long wave lengths allow the release of melatonin so that our circadian rhythms can stay in sync with the cycle of the day. This information is just emerging but we’d thought we’d keep you guys in the loop.

In this video we are at the Aden Project changing out the lights to accommodate these effects:

Doug Cameron is a Healthy, High-Performance Builder & Remodeler with ESS Design+Build in Austin, TX