We often hear that getting enough daylight is important for our health. But there is another side to the story that is just as important: darkness. In today's world, darkness has become increasingly rare. Our evenings are filled with bright LED lighting, televisions, smartphones, tablets and illuminated streets. While these technologies have made modern life more convenient, they have also dramatically changed the light environment our bodies evolved in. Photo by Maeghan Smul

Most people think of indoor lighting as something that simply helps us see. But good indoor lighting does much more than illuminate a room. The quality, intensity and timing of light have a profound effect on your circadian rhythm, sleep, energy levels, mood, productivity and overall health. Modern life means we spend around 90% of our time indoors, often under lighting that is too dim during the day and far too bright in the evening. As a result, many people experience poor

When most people think about lighting, they think about vision. We switch on a lamp to read a book, illuminate a workspace or make a room feel cosy. For more than a century, lighting has been designed primarily to help us see better. But science has revealed that light does far more than illuminate our surroundings. It also tells our body when to be awake and when to prepare for sleep. In other words, good light isn't only about seeing better, it's also about sleeping better.

Take a moment to think about your average day. You wake up in your home, travel to school or work, spend the day in an office or classroom, return home, eat dinner and relax in front of the television before going to bed. For many people, this means spending 90% of the day indoors. From an evolutionary perspective, that's a remarkable change. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans evolved almost entirely outdoors. Our bodies, brains and biological clock developed under th

We often talk about getting “enough light” during the day. But what does enough actually mean? Is the light in your home or office bright enough? Is sitting near a window enough? And does everyone need the same amount of light? The answer depends on several factors, including the time of day, where the light is measured and, importantly, your age. Photo by Beth Macdonald on Unsplash First things first: what is lux? Lux is a measure of how much light falls on a surface. One lu