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Daylight matters. It is a vital force that conditions our health and well-being, as well as the environment we live in. This year’s Daylight Awareness Week takes a closer look at how daylight can help tackle some of the big challenges that we face today. A range of online talks, podcasts and articles will explore the potential of natural light as “a force for good”, particularly in terms of health and sustainability. Unlike in previous years, this edition is not limited to online exchanges. This year, Daylight Awareness Week is literally going out to meet the public, featuring no fewer than three events at the  Berlin Science Week  festival on 1–2 November 2024 – a  panel discussion , an  exhibition  and a  workshop for kids . We invite everyone to participate by joining our events and sharing thoughts, experiences, and content on our topics. Use  #DaylightWeek  on social media to spread the word and engage in meaningful conversations. This event is organised by the Daylight Academy . More information and see the day-by-day programme Download the flyer

Last week marked our 20th Good Light Group meeting. We began with a brief update on the progress of the Good Light Group from Jan Denneman, followed by presentations from Erna van het Erve and Ronald Gronsveld, concluding with a Q&A session. Erna van het Erve, CEO of Studio LRO  – (Natuurlijk Licht en Ruimte Ontwerp), or Natural Light and Space Design, discussed her rebranding process and provided a demonstration on the practical applications of biophilic lighting in interiors. Ronald Gronsveld, CEO of Rofianda , spoke on LED lighting—emphasising benefits beyond energy savings and product lifespan, with a focus on human well-being. He explained: while all circadian lighting is human-centric, not all human-centric lighting is circadian. Why do people feel happier outdoors in summer?   Watch the Good Light Group news Watch the presentation of Erna Watch the presentation of Ronald

In most countries northern hemisphere every last Sunday of October the clock switches back to natural standard time. This year on 27th of October.  Often the standard time is referred to as "winter time"  and it means that the night from Saturday to Sunday will be one hour longer. The result is that it becomes earlier light in the morning and this extra morning light brings a number of benefits to our health. Go here for a detailed time zone map The earlier sunrise after the time shift is more than just a nice way to start the day, it helps regulate our internal body clocks. This synchronization between the natural light and the time on our watches plays a key role in improving our sleep quality. When our internal clock is aligned with the standard time, we tend to sleep better, wake up more refreshed, and feel more energetic throughout the day. Morning light exposure has also been linked to better mood regulation, helping us feel more upbeat and positive. While the extra morning light is a bonus, shifting the clocks can still be disruptive for many people. The adjustment period can sometimes feel like a mini jet lag, where your body struggles to adapt to the new rhythm. One of the best ways to make this transition smoother is to spend plenty of time outdoors, especially in the morning, during the days following the time change. The natural light helps your body recalibrate its internal clock, making it easier to adapt to the new schedule. While we adjust to standard time now, there's a growing debate over whether we should continue changing the clocks twice a year. It would be even better if countries aligned their time zones more closely with the natural longitude where they belong.

On average, a person spends about 20 hours a day indoors—whether it’s babies in daycare, students in classrooms, or employees in offices. Over an 80-year lifespan, this totals approximately 584,000 hours, or 83.3% of our lives, spent indoors. Given this significant amount of time, the health impacts of indoor environments are crucial. The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) addresses these impacts through the WELL Building Standard. This framework enhances the quality of life in buildings by focusing on air and water quality, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, and community. Achieving WELL Certification demonstrates a building’s commitment to occupant well-being. WELL Certification WELL Certification represents the highest achievement in health-focused building design, requiring projects to meet stringent standards across ten concepts. Two key aspects are L03 Circadian Lighting Design and L08 Electric Light Quality. L03 Circadian Lighting Design Our bodies rely on light cues to regulate circadian rhythms. Prolonged indoor time with inadequate lighting disrupts these rhythms, affecting sleep quality and linking to health issues like obesity and depression. The WELL certification sets requirements for Melanopic Equivalent Daylight Illuminance (melanopic EDI) to ensure proper circadian lighting, specifying 136 melanopic EDI for tier 1 and 250 for tier 2. L08 Electric Light Quality High-quality electric lighting enhances color perception and reduces flicker, which can cause eye strain, headaches, and migraines. WELL standards ensure lighting supports accurate color rendering and minimizes flicker, promoting a healthier indoor environment. Conclusion WELL certification underscores the impact of indoor environments on health. Good lighting supports circadian rhythms, mood, and productivity. Achieving WELL certification ensures buildings provide optimal lighting, enhancing both physical and mental well-being, and creating healthier, more productive spaces. Read the whole paper here Source: UPRtek

While it’s important to get enough daylight, it’s equally crucial to protect your skin from overexposure to UV rays in direct sunlight, which can cause skin damage and increase the risk of skin cancer. Photo by Guzmán Barquín  on Unsplash     Here are some tips for safe sun exposure: Use sunscreen: apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30 when spending extended periods outside. Wear protective clothing: long sleeves, hats, and sunglasses can help protect your skin from harmful UV rays. Seek shade: if the sun is bright (check the UV-index) avoid direct sunlight during peak hours (10 AM to 4 PM). Daylight is a natural and effective way to boost mental health. By understanding the science behind it and making small changes to increase your daily exposure, you can improve your mood, reduce stress, and enhance your overall well-being. But embrace the power of daylight safe and let it brighten not just your day, but your life. For more tips on improving mental health and well-being, explore our other blogs and stay tuned for more insightful content.

Not so long ago, in 2017, three American scientists received the Nobel Prize for their groundbreaking research on the biological clock. They discovered how the biological clock actually works. We’ve got 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. But what does this mean for us? The spheres send signals to our brain, which then sends signals to our internal systems to activate processes or let our body know when to get ready for sleep. These spheres react to the type of light you get, so it’s very important to get the right light at the right time. ·       Intense morning light awakens our body. ·       Daylight gives us more energy. ·       Dim evening light makes your body ready for sleep. Make sure you get at least two hours of daylight, or use electric light that compensates for the lack of daylight, during the day. This way, your biological clock can run in sync with the time of day, helping you feel energized at the right time and sleepy at the right time. And that's not all good light can do for you! Read more in our other blogs . More info about the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Lighting plays a crucial role in our daily lives, influencing everything such as our mood, energy, health and productivity. However, not all light is equal. Understanding the difference between good light and bad light can significantly impact your overall well-being. What is Good Light? Good light is daylight or artificial lighting that compensates for the lack of daylight. This type of light is characterized by its brightness, colour temperature, and ability to simulate the natural changes in light throughout the day. The benefits of good light Exposure to good light helps regulate your circadian rhythm, the natural biological clock that dictates your sleep-wake cycle. As a result, you experience less fatigue, a boost in energy levels and mood and increased productivity What is Bad Light? Bad light refers to artificial lighting that is either too dim during the day, too bright in the evening and night or of poor quality. This type of lighting can have a negative effect on your health and well-being. The negative effects of bad light Insufficient light during the day or overly bright lighting during the night can cause several negative effects such as: eye strain, disrupted sleep patterns, negative impacts on health and on mood, such as depression and anxiety, leading to low energy levels. Creating a good light environment To harness the benefits of good light, consider the following tips: Spend at least two hours outside daily, with at least half an hour in the morning. When indoors for extended periods, stay within one meter of a window. After every 20 minutes of screen time, get up and look at the sky for 20 seconds. Install electric good light  that compensates for the lack of daylight from sunrise to sunset, ensuring you receive at least 500 lux in your eyes during the daytime. Aim to keep lighting below 10 lux three hours before bedtime by avoiding bright lights and setting your screen to night mode. At night, keep lighting below 1 lux.

Artificial lighting is a key part of our daily lives, often replacing natural daylight. This shift can disrupt our circadian rhythms, which are the body’s natural 24-hour cycles regulated by the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN helps synchronize our internal clock with the day-night cycle, mainly influenced by blue light at the 480nm wavelength. Disruption of this rhythm can lead to health issues like sleep disturbances, mood disorders, metabolic problems, and cardiovascular diseases. Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash One major concern is the excessive exposure to blue light from electronic devices and LED lights. Evening exposure to this light suppresses melatonin production, a hormone essential for sleep regulation. Irregular lighting and high-intensity artificial light can also cause physiological imbalances, increasing eye strain and visual fatigue, which negatively impact productivity and overall well-being. Good light is the right light at the right time. Artificial lighting with natural light patterns supports a healthier circadian rhythm. Implementing good light involves using high colour temperature, blue-rich light in the morning to boost alertness and warm, melatonin-friendly light in the evening to encourage relaxation and better sleep. Dynamic lighting systems can simulate natural light changes throughout the day, helping maintain a balanced internal clock.   To measure the effectiveness of your good light setups you can use advanced tools like the UPRtek MK350S Premium spectrometer. This device can assess key parameters such as melanopic irradiance, melanopic lux, and the melanopic ratio. These measurements help evaluate how well a lighting environment can stimulate or suppress melatonin production, aligning with natural circadian rhythms. By testing these parameters, individuals can scientifically select lighting that meets good light standards, optimizing their light environment for health and productivity. More info about the UPRtek350S Premium spectrometer More info about UPRtek

Rofianda Light Solutions has become a participant of the Good Light Group to share more knowledge about real good light. The goal of Rofianda Light Solutions is to make good light available to every organism in the world—humans, animals, and plants—to create a better world to live in. As everyone knows, people spend almost 90% of their lives inside buildings, and the quality of light is far from the optimum we need. By partnering in the development of the Sunlight LED chip, and being the first in the world able to make all available fixtures with this unique feature, Rofianda Light Solutions is confident that this can be changed if people are willing to shift their way of thinking. More info about Rofianda Light Solutions

Light is crucial for human beings, with good light at the right time forming the foundation of both psychological and physiological health. Recognising the importance of lighting in our daily lives, Lighting Recipe Studio is dedicated to innovating the biological impacts of light, paving the way for healthy illuminated environments. Our interaction with light shapes our well-being, so it’s crucial to develop lighting solutions that positively impact our biological rhythms. By understanding how light affects us, from our mood to our sleep patterns, the studio creates lighting recipes that compensate for the lack of daylight. Good Light Group and Lighting Recipe Studio share the same vision, so, we are very excited to collaborate. More info about Light Recipe Studio

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between Atrium Ltd, the UK’s leading specialist in lighting and controls, and our group. This alliance merges Atrium's expertise in human-centric lighting with our dedication to educating people about the benefits of natural daylight, good electric lighting, and the health risks of extended indoor exposure of bad lighting. Together, we aim to set a new standard in lighting, enhancing lives and promoting well-being through innovative and impactful design. Photo by Jonathan Banks About Atrium Ltd Founded in 1976, Atrium Ltd is the UK's foremost independent lighting specialist, providing top-tier solutions for commercial, retail, hospitality, residential, and public sectors. Atrium Ltd collaborates with architects and designers to create lighting experiences that transform spaces and nurture well-being. Discover more at www.atrium.ltd.uk.

We've got a new participant, UPRtek. They are pioneers in developing high-quality solutions for light meters, flicker frequency meters, spectrometers, and spectroradiometers. “We hope to join The Good Light Group in promoting the importance of good lighting to the world, as UPRtek's mission aligns with that of The Good Light Group. Here, there are many pioneers in the lighting industry, and we believe that good lighting also requires excellent professional measuring instruments to complement it.” Hedy Lee | Deputy Sales Manager UPRtek More info about UPRtek