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Holidays, a time away from the hustle of our routine life, and perfect to take your time to relax. A time free from daily tasks, and a perfect time for your interests or hobbies, travel, or get some rest, a good moment in which you spend a lot of time outdoors. But what makes this time a time that you are exceptionally happy and feel healthier? Photo by Leo Rivas on Unsplashed If you go on holidays or have some time off, you spend a significant amount time outdoors. Much more than during other times of the year. Without intention or knowingly you help your circadian rhythm get in track with regular time. This is very beneficial to your health. You sleep better, have a better mood and more energy. When on holidays most of the time the weather is good and you often walk, cycle or exercise more which also contributes to your overall health. Spending more time in daylight plays a crucial role in your physiological and psychological health. Sunlight also promotes the synthesis of Vitamin D, a vital element for overall health and immunity. Regular exposure to daylight helps maintain your body's internal clock (circadian rhythm), which regulates your sleep-wake cycle with the time of the day and improves your sleep quality. You feel more rested in the morning and more energy during the day. So hope you had a happy and healthy holiday and spent a lot of time outdoor!

The daylight detector uses light to adjust our biological clock with the time of day. In the morning the intense daylight activates us. In the evening, when the sun goes down it prepares our body for a good night’s sleep. The daylight detector serves a crucial role in regulating our biological clock with the time of day. During morning hours, this detector responds to the daylight, sending signals to our brain that promote alertness and activity. As the sun sets in the evening, the diminishing light signals our body to prepare for a good night’s sleep. These signals between the daylight detector and the biological clock helps to maintain an alignment between our internal physiological processes and the daily 24-hours cycles. If you want to bring good light in your life, watch also the other steps to a healthier and happier life here: Try | Home | Good Light Group | Foundation Light supports us in everything we do. Good light has a great positive impact on our experience of energy, sleep, happiness and health.

Our board member Jan Denneman was interviewed by the Dutch news website NU.NL about how to maintain the holiday feeling. One day you're lounging on a beach, and the next, you're back at your desk. To avoid plunging straight back into the daily grind, here are some tips to extend that vacation feeling. Photo by Standsome Worklifestyle on Unsplash We Need More Daylight Jan Denneman, president of the Good Light Group Foundation, believes the vacation euphoria slips away so quickly primarily due to our limited exposure to natural daylight. "Most people work in environments, like offices or hospitals, that lack sufficient natural light. Regardless of how you spent your vacation, you likely spent more time outdoors than during a typical workweek.” Daylight plays a pivotal role in regulating our biological clock. Receiving adequate daylight helps synchronize our internal clock with the day's rhythm. "It ensures our day-night cycle aligns with the actual time," Denneman states. This alignment is crucial since our biological clock significantly impacts our sleep quality. The combination of fewer daily tasks and improved sleep during vacation naturally enhances our overall mood. Seek the Light Even after returning home you can maintain that relaxed feeling. Firstly, spend more time outdoors; morning light is particularly beneficial. "Even on an overcast day, the outdoor light is sufficient." For those confined indoors, positioning your desk near a window can be beneficial. "The closer, the better. But even a few meter away offers some advantages, although the light intensity diminishes." Lastly, Denneman suggests using specialized desk lamps for good light. These lamps project adequate light into your eyes, a standard rarely met by conventional indoor lighting. More info about how to get good light indoor Read the full article

Our body has a daylight detector: Light-sensitive cells in our eyes called spheres. These connect to the part of the brain called the biological clock that regulates our body’s daily rhythms. The discoverers of how the biological clock works were awarded the Nobel Prize. The daylight detector in your eyes plays the most important role in regulating your daily rhythms. This detection mechanism (the spheres) connects with your biological clock which regulate various bodily processes. The spheres in your eyes are responsible for converting light stimuli into signals. These signals are then sent to the brain, which processes this information, ensuring that you feel energised during the day and sleepy at night. This is why you need the right light at the right time. When your eyes get bright light at night, for example from screens, or when you are indoors with insufficient light, these spheres send the wrong signals to your brain, causing your biological clock to become desynchronised from the external time of day. If you want to bring good light in your life, watch also the other steps to a healthier and happier life here: Try | Home | Good Light Group | Foundation Light supports us in everything we do. Good light has a great positive impact on our experience of energy, sleep, happiness and health.

A blog by Jan Denneman for Swiss Sense. The holidays are almost at an end! It is a perfect way to relax and get away from the daily grind. After your vacation you feel completely recharged. How does that actually work, that recharging? Why do you suddenly have more energy after the vacations? And can you hold on to that vacation feeling? The power of daylight Fewer obligations and new experiences certainly contribute to your vacation feeling. But the real cause for the vacation feeling is daylight. We are made for daylight. Light, and especially daylight, has the greatest impact on the biological clock in our brains, setting it in sync with real time every day. This keeps the processes in our bodies synchronized with the 24-hour rhythm of day and night. So does our sleep-wake cycle. Therefore, according to Jan Denneman of the Good Light Group, much more attention should be paid to the effect of light on our health. Those who see enough daylight sleep better Daylight affects our biological clock and is therefore very important for our sleep and health. With enough daylight, you are more alert, productive and in a better mood. So the next time a colleague is grumbling, it's best to send him or her outside! How too little daylight disturbs your sleep If we are indoors most of the day, our biological clock lags about twenty minutes a day. After just a few days, that's one to two hours! You can compare it to jet lag, which is why we call it social jet lag. Like regular jet lag, it also causes problems with sleep. As an example, let's assume you've had a week of too little daylight. If you want to go to sleep at eleven o'clock, your body is only in the eight or nine o'clock position. You are still far too alert to sleep well because you still have too much cortisol hormone, which is our stress or vigilance hormone, in your body. Your body has not yet produced enough melatonin, which is just so important for good deep sleep. Perhaps you sleep in, tired from the whole week, but you do not achieve the deep sleep your body needs to recover. You then wake up unrested, less productive and in a worse mood. On vacation, your biological clock gets reset During our vacation and the amount of daylight our eyes see, our biological clock is synchronized with the time of day after just a few days. As a result, when you go to bed, your body is then ready for a good night's sleep. You sleep better, your mood improves, and there's that vacation feeling again! After the vacations we spend a lot of time indoors again, where we see too little daylight. Our bodies can't cope well with this and this often causes the vacation feeling to disappear quickly. The light inside is too weak during the day and too strong at night for our biological clock. The clock cells cannot make out what time it really is and start to lag: social jet lag. Three steps to good light Fortunately, you can do something yourself to keep the vacation feeling. Here are my 3 tips: 1. Make sure you are outside as much as possible during the day, take a walk in the morning, have lunch outside or take a lunch walk. 2. Make sure you sit near a window inside as much as possible, preferably within one meter distance. 3. Install good light. Good light is the right light at the right time. Provide plenty of light during the day and build it down to less and softer light at night. Normal indoor lighting is not strong enough for our biological clock. Fortunately, today there is special lighting that is strong enough. That way you can keep that vacation feeling all year long! Do these tips not work for you? Then there's nothing left to do but go on a well-deserved vacation! More info

With the help of light, our biological clock keeps our body in balance with the time of day. Our sleep improves and during the day we feel more rested, have more energy and feel better! Light plays an important role in regulating our biological clock, synchronizing our body's internal rhythm with the external time of day. This improves our sleep quality, resulting in more energy during the day and an improved overall well-being. Our biological clock, also known as the circadian rhythm, is sensitive to light stimuli. Exposure to natural light or good electric light, helps to regulate our sleep-wake cycle, allowing us to fall asleep more easily and experience a deeper sleep at night. Daylight, particularly in the morning, triggers light-sensitive cells in our eyes, which send signals to our brain to regulate our circadian rhythm, but more about this subject in one of our next blogs. Electric light needs to mimic daylight: “the right light at the right time”. If you want to bring good light in your life, watch also the other steps to a healthier and happier life here: Try | Home | Good Light Group | Foundation Light supports us in everything we do. Good light has a great positive impact on our experience of energy, sleep, happiness and health.

During my youth, I lived in Spain for ten years, where the light was bright and sunny, automatically bringing happiness. However, when I moved back to the Netherlands, I missed that cheerful and sunny light both outside and indoors, especially at home and in the office. I often found myself saying that it felt too dark, so I consciously opted for a bright interior. But even that didn't seem to be enough. A few months ago, I unfortunately had a fall on the stairs, resulting in broken bones and a severe concussion. This incident confined me indoors for weeks, and in the dimly lit house, I missed the bright light even more. So, how to proceed from there? It is often said that coincidence is an illusion. It was during this period of my life that I came across the Sparckel lamp. I was granted the opportunity to try it out for a trial period of 30 days. As I started using the Sparckel, I noticed a significant change. Just after 10 days of using it, the positive effects became evident. I experienced a boost in energy levels and an overall sense of feeling "lighter" and happier compared to before. Moreover, my sleep quality improved, and I began to enjoy restful nights, which felt like a precious gift. I genuinely wish everyone could experience the benefits of proper indoor lighting, just as I did. Therefore, I strongly recommend to everyone to take good care of their health through adequate light. The Sparckel lamp is truly wonderful, and I wholeheartedly endorse it for everyone! Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who offered me this incredible opportunity. More info about the 30 days experience

We, humans, evolved for tens of thousands of years, living outside under the rhythms of natural light. Our body’s rhythms, including alertness, mood and sleepiness, respond to the day-night cycle of our planet. This is all regulated by our biological clock. Day and night rhythms have a big impact on our lives, influencing your biological clock and regulating functions like alertness, mood, and sleepiness. This internal timekeeping system, known as the circadian rhythm, is affected by daylight. Exposure to natural light during the day triggers your biological responses that affect your mental and physical state. Your biological clock regulates your sleep-wake cycle, it makes you feel energized during the day and sleepy when it gets dark. A good night’s sleep helps improve your health, mood and alertness. So it’s crucial to get your daily dose of good light (daylight) or electric light that mimics daylight when you are indoor. If you want to bring good light in your life, watch also the other steps to a healthier and happier life here: Try | Home | Good Light Group | Foundation Light supports us in everything we do. Good light has a great positive impact on our experience of energy, sleep, happiness and health.

Our board member Jan Denneman was asked to give a presentation about good light by VZW Groen Licht Vlaanderen, about how light affects people. In today's modern world more than 5 billion people spend more than 90% of their lives indoor surrounded by artificial lighting. In this presentation Jan addresses how indoor light affect your health negatively and sheds light on the importance of good light (daylight) and proper indoor lighting to live a healthy and happy life. The adverse effects of poor indoor lighting: Poor indoor lighting can lead to various issues, such as sleep disturbances, fatigue, restlessness, reduced energy levels, and difficulty concentrating. Long-term exposure to poor lighting may also weaken the immune system and contribute to physiological and psychological stress. The benefits of good light: Good light has a positive impact of good indoor light on our lives. Proper lighting can significantly improve sleep quality, mood, alertness, and concentration. It plays a crucial role in promoting overall health, enhancing productivity, and reducing healthcare costs. The presentation: During the presentation, several essential aspects are covered, including the holiday feeling that can be recreated through being at least two hours per day outside or good indoor lighting. Four crucial facts about light are highlighted and a practical three-step solutions to good light. The paradox of indoor lighting was also explored. The presentation is in Dutch but you can add English subtitles on YouTube. Watch the presentation

Light supports us in everything we do. So it’s important to have the right light at the right time. It has a great positive impact on our experience of energy, sleep, happiness and health. Good light (daylight) is essential in our daily lives. It not only illuminates our environment but it also plays a crucial role in our overall health and well-being. Exposure to good light has a positive impact on various aspects of our physical and mental health. But in situations where direct daylight is limited, such as indoors, it’s important to adopt scientific light recommendations. Adopting these good lighting recommendations in norms and regulations will lead to improved indoor lighting and overall well-being of individuals as well as having a significant socio-economic impact. See our general good light guide More info about the scientific recommendations

Our partner ‘The Daylight Academy’ released a new flyer “Why do we need daylight?” It addresses the issue of insufficient daylight in urban areas. The Daylight Academy includes members from twelve countries across multiple disciplines. They encourage innovative ideas in daylight research and its applications, providing a platform for idea exchange. Daylight is a central aspect of public health. In urban areas, many people face limited access to daylight due to being indoors and also air pollution plays a role. Insufficient exposure to daylight can lead to disrupted biological rhythms, sleep disorders, inadequate vitamin D levels, myopia and mental problems. This publication addresses the issues that come with living and working indoors with a lack of daylight. The flyer explains the properties of sunlight and skylight and their role in areas such as art, aesthetics, health, and wellbeing. In settings with limited daylight, it is suggested recreating daylight's characteristics with electric light. This is recommended in the new European Daylighting Standard EN 17037, which recommends optimising daylight in interiors while limiting glare. The impact of light on health is also explained. It discusses the need for bright, blue-rich white light during the day and low-intensity warm white light after dusk to enhance wellbeing. Read the 'Why do we need daylight?' flyer here.

Our Chairman Jan Denneman wrote a commentary about putting light users first for the magazine Led professional Review. Here is a short summery about the article. Indoor lighting significantly affects our health and well-being. The scientific community is very clear, indoors we receive insufficient daylight during the day while we experience too much artificial light in the evening and at night. This disrupts our biological clock, leading to poor sleep, reduced productivity, and this affects our physical and mental health. Studies highlight the crucial role of light in our overall well-being. Light-sensitive cells called ipRGCs have been discovered in the retina. These cells, unrelated to vision, are connected to our brain's mood center and biological clock. By responding to the right patterns of light and darkness, they synchronize our biological clock to the 24-hour cycle. The importance of light was recognized through the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2017. This award celebrated scientists' breakthroughs in understanding how light impacts our biological clock and, consequently, our health. Experts recommend a minimum of 250 Melanopic Equivalent Daylight Illuminance (m-EDI lux) during the day to effectively influence our biological clock. However, most indoor spaces fall significantly short of providing this recommended amount. Excessive artificial light exposure during the evening and at night further exacerbates the issue. These recommendations, following peer reviews, were officially published in March 2022. The draft standard ISO 8995 for indoor lighting mentions these recommendations in Annex B.5, although annexes are often overlooked. the main arguments for lighting focus on costs and return on investment based on energy savings, primarily benefiting building owners and facility managers. But how much money can be saved when people are fit and alert at work, have fewer absences, function optimally, don’t experience depressive feelings, and are less frequently ill? How much can society save on healthcare costs? These amounts far exceed the energy savings from lighting. By prioritizing the health and well-being of building users, we can pave the way for healthier and happier lives. Billions of people are engaged in indoor activities during the day, deprived of natural daylight and reliant on artificial light, will get a healthier and happier life. Read the full article here