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Our board member Marijke Gordijn fights for good light. With today’s knowledge there are some good light products available, these are still quite expensive, but this should not be a problem since it is a health issue. Most people live and work in buildings which are insufficiently lit, so it is time for a change! Photo by Alexas Fotos from Pexels For more than 30 years, Marijke Gordijn's research has focused on the connection between the biological clock, sleep and light and what kind of impact it has on our brain and body. Now we know so much about how light affects us and we want to share this information to create more awareness about good light, so people can grow old in a healthier way. Read full article here: Fight for Good Light

These blue zones are hot spots of longevity around the world. People not only live a long life here but also tent to grow old without health problems like heart disease, obesity, cancer or diabetes. The five blue zones are: 1. Ikaria, Greece 2. Okinawa, Japan 3. Ogliastra region, Sardinia 4. Loma Linda, California 5. Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica What those people have in common is most rise and set with the sun, spend their days working, eating and playing in equal measure. Almost all spend a significant amount of the day active, either working in the farmland or fishing or walking around the neighbourhood to visit friends or family. So being outside during the day is a huge common factor. Being outside so much means that these happy people are daily exposed to good light, light that is beneficial for synchronizing their biological clock. And it is known that this improves sleep, fitness and mood. Of course this not the only thing they have in common, also very healthy local diet, deep social networks and genetics might have something to do with it. Sources: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/books/article/5-blue-zones-where-the-worlds-healthiest-people-live https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/the-mind-of-the-universe/kijk/wetenschappers/poulain.html https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p08b8r8d/the-italian-valley-that-holds-the-recipe-for-living-over-100

This comic book is for everyone to read, if you are 8 or 108, it does not matter. It explains in a fun way how light not only affects plants or animals but also our bodies. How we need light to produce sleeping hormones or wake up and feel energized. It not only explains why you need light to sleep or feel energized, but also your sleep pattern, how to resynchronise your circadian clock (day/night rhythm) after a jet-lag or social jet-lag and what mental health issues come with lack of sleep. You can even test if you are a morning lark or a night owl! So, what are you? Read the comic book here: How your body tells time

Ciluz recently became our new partner. They want to promote the knowledge and importance of light in human development, to stimulate the use of Good Light. Which is similar to our mission! “The light is present in every moment of our lives. It is responsible for the biological cycles of all natural life. Adequate light generates health and well-being.” Ciluz is a light and energy research center located in Chile which wants to bring light and energy to all people. Their activities: Educate people about the efficient use of light and energy for healthcare and the environment. Development of applied research projects on the effects of light on health, the environment and cities. Representment of the society in the review and update of lighting regulations. They offer all kinds of different courses, workshops and educational experiences focused on the different areas of lighting and energy. For more information visit: Ciluz.cl

A good biorhythm is very important for well-being and health. Our biological clock is disrupted because the natural day-night rhythm of light and dark is under severe pressure in modern society. Circadian rhythm disturbance has been associated with a variety of diseases and conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, sleep disorders, depression and cancer. The activity of the immune system is also subject to a day-night rhythm. The question is whether these correlations have a causal relationship, and - more importantly - whether the effects can be influenced by light exposure. In other words: can light be used as a medicine? The importance of sufficient daylight for well-being and health is explicitly brought to the attention by various organizations, including the Good Light Group. Also evidence is given that light has a beneficial effect on well-being in the treatment of some forms of depression with light therapy. The question is whether “photoceuticals” are just as good or perhaps better than “pharmaceuticals” for some conditions. Is it conceivable that light therapy is incorporated in the treatment modalities of obesity and cancer? And can the immune system be influenced by light? Intriguing questions, which in turn require thorough scientific research. Scientists from different disciplines have joined forces in the BioClock Consortium to answer these questions. The Good Light Group is one of the partners within this partnership. How do we keep our biological clock healthy? That question recently resulted in a subsidy of € 9.7 million for the consortium. It is one of the projects that receive funding within the National Science Agenda (NWA) program of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), for which the public was invited to submit questions to be addressed by the scientists. That will probably result in great answers. Aart Mudde, internist-endocrinologist, mental health doctor and trainer-coach at “Soepel Samenwerken”.

The first deLIGHTed talks webinar ‘good life – good light’ was a great success! Almost 200 attendees listened to the free webinar about how good light indoors contributes to health and well-being. Four light professionals were invited to talk about good light and how it affects your well-being. They explained several topics regarding good light: The difference between daylight and electric light. The effect on your sleep- wake cycle, biological clock, and mental health. How exercise, good meals and social interactions are as important. The decrease of myopia when exposed to outdoor light. Recommendations for the right amount of light during the day. How to reset your biological clock when it is disturbed. How light therapy is beneficial for people with a bipolar disorder. The realization of a primary school with good light in every room. Watch the lectures here: ​ Good Light for Healthy, Daytime-Active People | Good Light Group by Annette STEINBUSCH, MSc. S&R Manager Light Quality at Signify, The Netherlands Case Study of a School Project | IALD by Julia HARTMANN, Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Interior Design, IALD, CLD CEO and Creative Director at lightsphere, Switzerland Relevance of Daylight for Humans | DLA by Mirjam MÜNCH, Dr. Centre for Public Health Research, Massey University Wellington, New Zealand Case Study of a School Project | IALD by Julia HARTMANN, Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Interior Design, IALD, CLD CEO and Creative Director at lightsphere, Switzerland Want to read about our recommendations? Get our Good Light Guide, which contains a lot of information about good light. We look forward to the next delighted talks webinar!

Our Group promotes good light, which makes people healthy and happy. Good Light is the right light at the right time. Good light is natural light or electric lighting with comparable beneficial effects on our lives as natural daylight. Being outdoors is the best remedy. Indoors, the light is usually good enough to see but in most cases not good enough to positively influence our biological clock, sleep and mood. Many people have asked for more guidance on good light. With a group of Participants, especially those with a scientific background in the fields of chronobiology, sleep, and lighting, we have composed a practical guide with recommendations for people that are active during the day. Of course, natural daylight is always best, but also needs some precautions. To realize good light indoors requires a few principles. We describe good light in four dimensions: attractive, dynamic, optimized and personal. In the guide we give direction to how to design your lighting indoors. Good luck, and please share your experiences. For more information: Good Light Guide | Home | Good Light Group | Foundation

Bartenbach is one of the world’s trendsetting lighting innovation companies and recently joined the Good Light Group. Photo by © David Franck The activities of Bartenbach include individual lighting solutions, lighting design, solution design, R&D, training and further education. The headquarters is based in Austria, with offices in Germany, Swiss and the Netherlands. Bartenbach works together with renowned architect studios to create the lighting design in numerous projects. They always seek to apply the newest lighting technologies to increase the effectiveness of lighting and improve health and well-being of the people that have to work, learn, play, care, heal, etc. in artificial light. We are very happy that the Bartenbach team joins the Group, and we are sure that they will be instrumental to give good light a real boost in the practice of indoor lighting. More: Bartenbach: Homepage

The mission of Age of Light Innovations is to make people aware of the importance of human-centred lighting. Dr Shelley James is the founder of Age of Light Innovations and international expert on light and well-being. She is a passionate advocate for public engagement with science, lecturer at the Royal College of Art and at King's College, London and elected member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. She holds a PhD from the Royal College of Art and is a qualified electrician and lighting designer. Image Luna™. Click here to watch the Luna™ YouTube videos Her latest social media campaign with the character Luna™ helps teens to understand how light affects their health and happiness. The online campaign was highly successful and has reached over 1.7 million teens to date, it makes clear that teens really do care about good light! More info: ageoflightinnovations.com

Watts ON is a Belgium based company specialized in workplace lighting. Their intention is to shift the focus from mainly energy efficiency to the health and well-being that good light can bring to the people working indoors. “Lighting is a neglected element if it comes to the quality and pleasure of working in an indoor environment”, says Lard Vanobbergen, the CEO, in this case the Chief Energy Officer. Lard is on its way to become an authority about the health effects of lighting, and that is the main reason for him and his company to join the Good Light Group as Participant. We will all very much benefit from Lard’s insights. Welcome to the Group! More: Relighting by ON | Watts ON

Today, 7 April 2021, it is the World Health Day, organized by the WHO. The theme this year: building a fairer, healthier world. To support your health, make sure that you get good light. Daily good light regulates your day-night rhythm and has a positive effect on your immune system, helpful to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo by Holly Mandarich on Unsplash We spend 90% of our lives indoors, deprived from natural daylight. This negatively impacts our bodies, minds, sleep, mood, performance and immune system. It may seem unnatural but when the light indoors is good enough to see well, it is still not good for your health. In most cases the power of the light indoors is insufficient to properly regulate the day-night rhythm. The consequence of this is that many people don't sleep well, aren't energetic during the day and suffer from mood swings. The lack of light has a negative impact on health. Make sure you are outdoors for a good time every day, especially in the morning, and get your dose of daylight. If that is not possible, sit inside close to the window and make sure that your workplace is brightly lit. Approximately five times brighter than the current practice. And make sure that you dim your lights in the evening, so that your body prepares for a good sleep. Are you already aware how good light helps improving your health? Read more here

Changing the clock with one hour in order to make better use of natural daylight in the evening is not helpful for sleep and health. Photo by © Myrthe Effing for the newspaper AD For 1,6 billion people in more than 70 countries the time will shift this weekend (or very soon) to daylight saving time (DST), or like most of us call it, to “Summertime”. This means that sunrise and sunset are one hour later. We finally can enjoy the extra hour of daylight in the evening but unfortunately it is not healthy. Most people have an indoor job and are deprived from natural daylight during the day. The first daylight many people will get is in the evening, relatively short before bedtime. The circadian rhythm is confused and our body is not ready for the night. This negatively impacts our bodies, minds, sleep, mood, performance and hurts our health. These days newspapers report a lot about the effects of daylight saving time. Like this interview in the AD. The Good Light Group is in favour of sticking to the standard time and is part of the International Alliance for Natural Time. Good Light means intense light during the day and dimmed in the evening and night. Sticking the whole year with the standard time is the best.