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An artikel by Jan Denneman for the Led professional Review Life on earth has developed over hundreds of millions of years under the influence of the 24-hour rhythm of the sun’s energy, light and darkness. In order to cope with this, 24-hour rhythms have also developed in all forms of life: the so-called circadian processes. These processes are the oldest and most fundamental processes that make life possible. Life uses the light of day and the darkness of night to keep in sync with the rhythm of the planet. Photo by Eduardo Alexandre on Unsplash Humankind, our species, Homo Sapiens, has been around for about thirty thousand years. For most of our relatively short history, we were outdoors during the day. As hunters and gatherers, we lived off the edible food we found outdoors. So we automatically got enough daylight every day. This ensured that our circadian rhythms kept pace with the time of day. In recent centuries, however, humans have increasingly begun to live indoors. Since the industrial revolution, this transition has been very rapid. We now spend most of our lives indoors (90%). Few people realize that the intensity of light indoors, even with electric lights on, is comparable to or less than the intensity of daylight outside at the time of sunrise and sunset. So we are inside all day in the twilight! During the day the intensity is much too low and at night much too high compared to the light outside. Our bodies cannot interpret the constant signals of twilight properly and our circadian rhythm gets out of sync with real time. Every day that we do not get enough daylight, our personal circadian rhythm lags behind by about 15 minutes. After just a few days, our personal clock can be more than an hour behind. This has consequences for our health. When you go to bed, you fall asleep because you are tired, but your body is not yet ready for a good deep sleep. Due to superficial sleep, your body does not recover sufficiently at night and you do not wake up rested. During the day you are less fit than you would like to be and your mood becomes gloomy. “Good light is just as important for your well-being and health as good nutrition and sufficient exercise.” JAN DENNEMAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE GOOD LIGHT GROUP If you recognize these symptoms, it may indicate a disrupted rhythm due to a lack of daylight or light at the wrong time. Many people suffer from this. The best way to stay in rhythm is to be outside a lot every day. A few hours of morning light is especially good. Daylight is always the right light for our biological clock, and our body responds positively to it. If you can’t be outside, make sure you are inside close to a window during the day, less than a meter away and facing the window. Otherwise, your body will still only experience twilight. If this is not possible, make sure you have good lighting that mimics daylight as closely as possible. For this, it must have the same rhythm as daylight: dynamic in intensity and light color. During the day it must be sufficiently strong, at least five times stronger than what you are used to. Otherwise your biological clock will not react properly. Good light, i.e. the right light at the right time, can change your life. A lot of light during the day and cozy, dimmed light at night. You will notice that you wake up rested, can handle more during the day and are less likely to feel depressed. Good light is just as important for your well-being and health as good nutrition and sufficient exercise. At Light & Building, we will see many innovations in the field of energy efficient and smart lighting. It will be up to the lighting manufacturers to actually bring these innovations to market and provide the billions of people who sit inside, in the twilight, every day with good light. Read the Led professional Review

It is essential that buildings and homes contain natural light and fresh air as a fundamental part of their environmental factors. In current times, we spend 90% of our lives indoors while, if you look at the evolution of mankind, we spent most of our lives outdoors. Our bodily functions are not used to living most of the day indoors in rooms with insufficient light. Nowadays, many buildings have good ventilation systems. But what about daylight? It is still often forgotten to include this in architectural designs. Although it is happening more and more because people are starting to realise how important daylight is. There is even an organisation that rates buildings on their health. Among other things, they rate buildings on how much daylight they let in. This is not surprising, if you read our previous article in which we wrote about the beneficial effects for employees when they work in more daylight. And employers not only benefit from more productive employees, but in the short term also from lower electricity prices. As electricity costs continue to rise, it is more expensive to light buildings with artificial light! Let daylight in! Build more buildings with large windows, as there are literally no downsides.

The REBF Festival takes place on 21 September in the Zuidas in Amsterdam. Jan Denneman (our boardmember), will give a keynote presentation on ‘The health effects of Good Light in Buildings’ and afterwards we host a roundtable discussion about this theme with Marijke Gordijn (our other boardmember), Erna van het Erve and Maarten Voorhuis. You can now enjoy a 75% discount via this link: forms.summit.nl/HCP/REBFPartners/ and listen to our keynote presentation and roundtable discussion. As of today everyone with a REBF Festival ticket can compile their own personal programme. So join us and choose what presentations or discussions you find interesting! For more information visit: https://www.realestatefutureproof.nl/

Shift workers are more likely to suffer from depression or other mental health disorders. Because of their disrupted daily cycle of the body, also known as the circadian rhythm. Sarah DeWeerdt wrote an article about how disrupted sleep and unnatural exposure to light can increase the risk of depression. In 2018, researchers invited 23 people to a study on circadian rhythm. They wanted to understand why workers on night shifts have an approximately 25% to 40% higher risk of mental illness. Photo by Arno Senoner on Unsplash The findings suggested that one of the reasons for an increased risk of depression is the misalignment of the body's internal clock with the outside world. There is also growing evidence that circadian rhythm disturbances and altered light exposure (more artificial light at night and less natural daylight during the day) increase the risk of depression. According to one study, more than 90% of people with depression have sleep problems. So the two seem to be related. Sleep has a protective effect: better sleep can help prevent depression in adults. Previous studies have shown that light also has a direct antidepressant effect, by stimulating the mood-regulating brain centres. Cajochen even says that light is "as powerful as antidepressants". Perhaps modern lifestyles need a little adjustment to improve circadian rhythms. For shift workers, the solution might be typical meal times or redesigning evening lighting in homes or night shift lighting in factories. Source: article Sadness and schedules by Sarah DeWeerdt

For three years in a row, the Good Light Group and LED Expo Thailand have been partners of SMARTTECH ASEAN. This year we have been invited again to present the Good Light story at their educational symposium on September 22. The contribution for 2022 will consist of three parts. 1. Good indoor light for better health People spend most of their lives indoors, shielded from natural daylight. Indoor electric light is good enough for visual tasks, but usually insufficient to compensate for the lack of daylight. To make the best use of light, you need to understand the four elements through which light affects our bodies: the circadian rhythm, the biological clock, the daylight detector and the twilight zone. People need to start to recognise the symptoms of screened-out daylight: poor sleep quality, low energy during the day and mood swings, and relate these symptoms to the lack of light. Then they can take action. A three-step approach is explained for bringing good light into your life. 2. Guide to good light This sets out the requirements for indoor electrical lighting to best replicate the positive aspects of daylight. 3. The innovation challenge Why is the focus on good light the biggest innovation opportunity for the lighting industry, interior designers and lighting designers? If you want to participate, please follow the following link to the LED Expo website. After the conference we will also make the presentations available online. More info

Harvard business review published the results of a survey by an HR consultancy on this back in 2018, so that’s four years ago! But many offices are still too dark, causing many disadvantages for the employees, such as fatigue and gloom. But what are the benefits of natural light in the office? Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash Better sleep Every employer wants his employees to geta good night’s sleep. A good night’s sleep is essential for a person’s well-being. They feel more rested the next day and wake up with more energy. In general, an employee who sits next to a large window and receives a lot of natural light sleeps 46 minutes more per night extra than his colleague who does not sit next to a window and receives less natural light. Better health and mood Better sleep and more sunlight have a natural effect on health and mood. So, not only do employees take less sick leave but are also happier if they sit next to a window. Productivity boost NBBJ published a study comparing sales in shops with and without a skylight. They found that sales were 40% higher in the shops with skylight than in shops with fluorescent lighting! And all with free natural daylight! And if skylights are not possible, install "good light", which is lighting that mimics the positive aspects of daylight as closely as possible. Sources: https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2014/08/12/zee-office-light/ https://www.newdayoffice.com/blog/benefits-of-natural-light-in-the-workplace https://www.nbbj.com/news https://hbr.org/2018/09/the-1-office-perk-natural-light

For you to understand we first will explain what your circadian rhythm is. Your circadian rhythm is your inner clock, it makes sure all your body rhythms work natural according to the time of the day, so your body feels tired when you need to go to bed and you feel energized during the day. But also when your organs don’t need to work so hard and can go in sleep mode, so your body can fully recover by night. When the circadian rhythm is disrupted we don’t sleep well, we get energy on the wrong time of the day or don’t get energy at all, even your organs can become a bit disrupted. Photo by Mwangi Gatheca on Unsplash Now researchers have linked a disrupted circadian rhythm with mental illnesses, such as seasonal affective disorder, bipolar disorder, sleep disorders and depression. This offers hope to people struggling with these illnesses, treatments that align with the circadian rhythm may become an important part of treating mental illness and lead to better management of these diseases. Let your circadian rhythm run properly by spending more time outdoors during the day or make sure you get enough daylight indoors by sitting in front of or near a window. And make sure you install Good Light indoors, this is light that mimics daylight as good as possible. More information

People who have enjoyed a camping weekend benefit greatly from it! Spending a weekend on a campsite means spending a lot of time outside. Research now shows that you sleep better when you are out in the daylight. Daylight ensures that your inner clock is set correctly. When you go to bed, your body is also ready for a good night's sleep. As a result, you wake up fresher in the morning. Photo by Victor Larracuente on Unsplash But how do you know if your inner clock is not working properly? The answer is simple: are you tired during the day, can't concentrate, do you feel a bit down or depressed, can't fall asleep easily at night? These are all signs of a poorly synchronised internal clock. Your internal clock needs daylight to determine what time it is. If you are often indoors during the day, your internal clock may be out of sync. Fortunately for you, there is a simple solution to get your internal clock back in sync: go camping for a weekend. You'll sleep better, feel more rested, more focused, and happier! Read all about the research here For all those other periods in the year when you can’t go camping, make sure that you install Good Light indoors. This is light that mimics the benefits of daylight as good as possible.

I feel more relaxed during the holidays than at other times of the year. This is certainly due to the fact that I am outside more during the holidays and therefore get more daylight than usual. This light has a positive influence on my body and mind. I sleep better, have more energy during the day and my mood is upbeat. The scientific explanation for this is clear. Our bodies need daylight so that our brains can synchronise our biological rhythms with real time. This ensures that by the time we go to bed, our bodies are indeed ready for a good night's sleep. Our sleep is deeper and our body recovers better. As a result, we have more energy the next day and feel more comfortable and in a better mood. Photo by Jimmy Conover on Unsplash Many people tell me that they also have this positive "holiday feeling", but that it quickly disappears when they go back to work. Since most people have indoor jobs, this is quite logical. The light level indoors is only 1% of the light level outside during the day in summer. In fact, the indoor light level is equal to or lower than the outdoor light level at the time of sunrise and sunset. This is too weak for our brain to synchronise our biological rhythms. Our bodies cannot determine the actual time because we remain in twilight almost all day. Personally, I have found the remedy. I have installed good light indoors in the places where I work. This is light that mimics daylight as closely as possible. In this way, I can keep the holiday feeling all year round. Do you also want to sleep better and have more energy all year round? Read more about what good light can do for you at www.goodlightgroup.org. Jan Denneman Chairman of the Good Light Group

We love to go on holidays, a lot of people want to go as far away as possible to beautiful nature, beaches and explore new cultures. It’s fun but, if you have a jet lag, the first days are a bit less fun. With some good preparations you can almost avoid getting a jet lag. First of all, we need to know where a jet lag is coming from. It’s the result of the difference between our biological clock (e.g. sleep wake cycle) and other rhythms like the actual time of day, the time when the sun sets and rises. If you travel to another timezone your biological clock is still stuck in the old one and your behaviour in the new time zone doesn’t match with your inner clock anymore. The short term effects are sleep deprivation which leads to tiredness and you might feel moody and aren’t able to focus properly. You can even get some stomach or gastrointestinal issues. Here are some tips and tricks to reduce your jet lag: Let your biological clock get used to the new time zone a week before you fly. If you fly to the west, you can lengthen your day in steps by going to bed a bit later each day, take your meals later in the evening stay longer in the light and keep it dark in the morning. If you fly to the east gradually shorten your day, three hours before you go to bed stay in dim light and if you wake up get out into bright light. Take a power nap, if you are very tired take a small nap of half an hour If you are for short periods in different time zones, try to keep the time zone of your home. Don’t try to shift your biological clock. Read the full article at de Gelderlander Photo credits: De Gelderlander

You might be one of the many people who spend most of their time indoors. Do you have trouble sleeping, or lack energy and are you moody sometimes? Not getting enough natural daylight can be the reason why! If you are shielded from daylight, or as we call it Good Light, it’s an unnatural situation for our bodies and brains to be in. Light tells our brain what time of day it is. It helps to synchronize the master clock in our brains. However, the light levels indoors are too weak to trigger the master clock properly. We live on an earth with a 24 hour light dark cycle and a social clock that also has a 24 hour rhythm. But when our bodies are not synchronized, this leads to negative consequences for sleep quality, energy, mood and health. We need more good light during the day and less light in the evening. For the full story read Led professional Review page 62

We were invited to give a presentation about how light can give you that everlasting holiday feeling and give you a better health throughout the year. Since nowadays we spend most of our lives indoors where we are shielded from natural daylight. The light in buildings is most of the time comparable to twilight and far from sufficient to have a positive influence on our wellbeing. The electric light is good enough for visual tasks but that’s about it. To keep that holiday feeling and take good care of your wellbeing you need to be in direct daylight or, if that’s impossible, be in light that mimics daylight as close as possible. So, do you sleep poorly, do you have little energy during the day and are moody? Those are the symptoms of light deprivation! Watch the webinar here: Signify lighting academy all you need to know about light