One size does not fit all when it comes to light

Thank you to those who attended the Environmental, Social and Governance event last week – all about what it will take for the people who buy lights for a living to shop on value, not cost. We heard from EY, Arup, Morgan Sindall, the WELL and the SLL’s Helen Loomes. It was a brilliant discussion and look forward to sharing some of the highlights next week, 

In the meantime, here are some articles about just how different we all are when it comes to light exposure. 

These studies show how sensitivity to evening light shifts from pre-school and into teenage years.

The melatonin levels of this group of pre -school children remained at 50% suppression 50 minutes after exposure to bright light for just one hour before bedtime – Sensitivity of the circadian system to evening bright light in preschool-age children And this piece explains how young people in early to mid-puberty are more sensitive to exposure to light in the evening than teens in late- and post-puberty – Increased Sensitivity of the Circadian System to Light in Early/Mid-Puberty

Although the recommendations in yesterdays’ post are a great starting point, this research points to a 6-fold difference between people in the melatonin response following exposure to evening light.. – High sensitivity and interindividual variability in the response of the human circadian system to evening light

Even though it’s clearly hard to generalise, this review presents current evidence of the impact of artificial lighting in the office during the day, healthcare and shift workers at night – and makes practical recommendations in line with CIE, DIN, UL and WELL standards – Should We Re-think Regulations and Standards for Lighting at Workplaces? A Practice Review on Existing Lighting Recommendations

This excellent review offers another solution – given that the current ‘one size fits all’ approach to the indoor office environment that ends up suiting no-one – and does not even deliver on environmental targets. It describes a future vision for workspaces that ‘provide personalized experiences for each user and promote office worker productivity, health and well-being while also reducing overall energy consumption through direct interactions with their users to learn comfort requirements. Since the desk is an important part of any office space, where workers spend most of their time, we envision the desk acting as a point of contact between building systems and office users’. – Smart Desks to Promote Comfort, Health, and Productivity in Offices: A Vision for Future

Delivering a tailor made solution ultimately ocmes down to controls. In this podcast, Dan Blitzer who has been working in lighting controls for over 40 years shares his view on the past, present and future of this vital sector. The ‘soup’ metaphor is somewhat overcooked – but it’s worth persisting to hear this long range perspective – Get a Grip On Lighting. #250 Lighting Controls: The Risk Of Getting It Wrong with Webster Marsh and Ron Kuszmar and guest Dan Blitzer.

And thank you to those who pointed out that the link in last weeks’ article about athletes and timing went to the wrong place – here is the right one.