The health claims for lighting can often seem far-fetched – after all it’s just a light bulb right?! This massive database of health insurance data uses AI to explore the link between genes and environment in over 560 conditions. Of course it caught my eye because, to quote ‘Of all disease categories, eye disorders carried the highest degree of environmental influence, with 27 of 42 diseases showing such effect’. – Researchers tap massive database to determine the effects of genes and environment in 560 common conditions
This paper gives a brilliantly elegant and clear summary of the ‘known knowns’, the ‘known unknowns’ and the ‘unknown unknowns’ of ipRG’s – the specialist cells in the retina discovered just 20 years ago. It concludes – ‘Overall, a better understanding of how light is perceived by the human eye will help deliver precise light usage recommendations and implement light-based therapeutic interventions to improve cognitive performance, mood, and life quality. – Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells of the Human Retina
Some of us prefer to listen to information rather than read it – so here is a recent interview with the brilliant Professor Steven Lockley on how light affects our circadian rhythm. Listen to the full interview with Professor Steven Lockley, If you want to go deeper, this incredible – and quite dense – conversation between Henrik Clausen and Deborah Bunett takes us on fascinating journey: from how the colours in dead bodies’ vital organs can tell you what time they met their end, whether the light gets into babies’ skulls, and how our skin makes Vitamin D. with https://youtu.be/F5xPaUppgjs
Back to a more esoteric perspective: this article explains how a lack of exposure to light in early years can hit your pocket to the tune of around $9,000 over a lifetime. It may be a bit late for us older people reading this – but you could cut your your kids’ chances of developing myopia by up to 40% simply by getting them outside for 90 minutes every day. Some brilliant research suggests that the next generation of lighting might help too – Cost of Myopia Correction: A Systematic Review
And, finally, the glow of Valentine’s day may be facing slightly but the hue-heat phenomenon works all year round – and could help you and yours stay snug and cut your electricity bills too. This paper explains how shifting the lights from cool to warm can change perceived ambient temperature by up to 3 degrees- Effect of illumination on perceived temperature
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