Intense illumination in the morning hours improved mood and alertness but not mental performance

Leichtfried, Veronika; Mair-Raggautz, Maria; Schaeffer, Viktoria; Hammerer-Lercher, Angelika; Mair, Gerald; Bartenbach, Christian; Canazei, Markus; Schobersberger, Wolfgang

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2014.07.001

Cited by 78 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Another laboratory study showed that even in the absence of sleep and light deprivation, exposure to a higher illuminance at eye level can induce subjective alertness and vitality, increase physiological arousal and improve performance on a sustained attention task [44]. The same results were found by Leichfried et al who concluded that that early morning illumination improves subjective alertness and mood, but had no impact melatonin level and mental performance of individuals [43].…”

Section: Performancesupporting

confidence: 73%

Natural Light and Productivity: Analyzing the Impacts of Daylighting on Students’ and Workers’ Health and Alertness

2016

IJACEBS

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Abstract-Studies show that the quality of the school environment significantly influences students' academic performance. Among the many attributes of the school environment, light is one of the most visible and talked about ones. Lighting in the classrooms has been the subject of many studies for over a century. In recent years, special attention has been given to the impact of natural light on learning as light has physiological, psychological and behavioral influences on school children as well as workers. A multitude of surveys has indicated also that daylight impacts the health. We believe that workers' and students' health, satisfaction, attention, and consequently performance are improved with the help of natural light. This paper discusses the current literature and design-based evidence to evaluate the impacts of natural light on office workers and students' scholastic performance. Issues of timing and exposure to daylight are also discussed.Keywords-Daylighting, Morning Sunlight, Students, Health, Workers Performance, Alertness I. INTRODUCTIONAmong the many elements that impact building occupants, lighting seems to have the most influence. Light is an essence for humans and it is known that has physical, physiological, and psychological influences [1].In the early part of the 20 th century, natural light was the primary source of building illumination. In a short span of a couple of decades, electric lighting became the primary source of illumination, mostly because of convenience. In recent years, energy conservation and environmental concerns have changed those practices and brought daylighting once again at the forefront of the sustainability debate [2]. For decades, an appropriate lighting design was based on the idea that it should meet the needs of the building occupants especially in terms of visual task performance. However, recent connections between health and wellbeing and lighting have made lighting of building interiors one of the most salient environmental factors in architectural design [1]. Recent studies have proven that there is a correlation between lighting and humans' performance and health. Light does not only provide visual information but also constitutes a powerful modulator of our circadian rhythm and many non-visual functions including the state of alertness, mental focus, and cognitive performance [3]. Light is also an important ingredient in educational settings, as it appears to have strong influences on cognition and learning. Research on electric lighting in classrooms has received some attention over the last few decades but research on the impact of natural light on students has been somewhat scarce [4]. The limited number of studies in this area seem to show that windows and daylight can enhance students' physical and psychological health, influence their mood, behavior and learning [5], [6]. Our study presents a comprehensive review of recent work that explored the relationship between daylight and students' and workers' health and performance. In this regard, the in...

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Section: Performancesupporting

confidence: 73%

Natural Light and Productivity: Analyzing the Impacts of Daylighting on Students’ and Workers’ Health and Alertness

2016

IJACEBS

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“…More recently, Hoffmann [8] concluded that workplace lighting and its variations are critical to determining the productivity of employees and their well-being. The results of Leichtfried [9] suggest that a brief exposure to bright light induced an increase in subjective mood and alertness, which dim light did not.…”

Section: Non-visual Effects Of Illuminationmentioning

confidence: 84%

Use of Natural Light vs. Cold LED Lighting in Installations for the Recovery of Victims of Gender Violence: Impact on Energy Consumption and Victims’ Recovery

et al. 2017

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Abstract:The efficiency of lighting installations is a major challenge concerning Governments, productive sectors and individuals. However, the importance of accurate lighting in some areas, especially those related to Health and Wellbeing is so critical that the constraints of energy efficiency and sustainability are not always a priority. This situation has become more critical with the current boom in the application of non-visual effects of light to these areas. In this study, the effects oftwo different kinds of lighting on femalevictims of gender violence are compared and analyzed in terms of positive results and impact on energy consumption and sustainability. The lighting technologies used are integrated in facilities where these women carry out different activities aimed at their integration into daily life after their traumatic experiences. The results are expected to become a tool for professionals working with these collectives and for installation designers. In spite of the well-known effects of cold light, especially for tasks involving arousal, sleepiness and other critical variables, it is demonstrated that daylight, which is obviously cheaper from productive and environmental perspectives, is better for this application.

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“…The subjective fatigue (subjective feeling of tiredness) was measured using an 11-point visual analog scale, ranging from zero for ‘completely not tired’ to 100 for ‘very tired’ [1742]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides the classic visual effects, light affects physiological processes such as melatonin suppression, circadian and homeostatic regulations, and neuroendocrine and neurobehavioral functions [7891011]. Furthermore, light can have acute physiological responses and positive effects on subjective and objective measures of alertness [1213141516], mood [17], and certain task performance [181920]. These effects are important because fatigue and sleepiness are major causes of human errors and accidents, and can reduce the workers’ efficiency [2122].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-Image Forming Effects of Light on Brainwaves, Autonomic Nervous Activity, Fatigue, and Performance

Askaripoor¹,

Motamedzade²,

Golmohammadi³

et al. 2018

Journal of Circadian Rhythms

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Fatigue and sleepiness are one of the main causes of human errors and accidents in the workplace. The empirical evidence has approved that, in addition to stimulating the visual system, light elicits brain responses, which affect physiological and neurobehavioral human functions, known as the non-image forming (NIF) effects of light. As recent evidences have shown the positive effects of red or low correlated color temperature white light on alertness and performance, we investigated whether exposure to 2564 K light could improve subjective and objective measures of alertness and performance compared with 7343 K, 3730 K, and dim light (DL) conditions during the daytime. Twenty two healthy participants were exposed to the light while they were performing a sustained attention task and their electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) were recorded. Both 2564 K and 7343 K conditions significantly reduced EEG alpha-power compared with the DL and 3730 K conditions. Moreover, the 2564 K, 7343 K, and 3730 K conditions significantly reduced subjective fatigue, sleepiness and increased heart rate and performance compared with the DL condition. Furthermore, the effects of light conditions on alertness and performance varied over the day so that more effective responses were observed during the afternoon hours. These findings suggest that light interventions can be applied to improve daytime performance.

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Intense illumination in the morning hours improved mood and alertness but not mental performance

Cited by 78 publications

References 48 publications

Natural Light and Productivity: Analyzing the Impacts of Daylighting on Students’ and Workers’ Health and Alertness

Natural Light and Productivity: Analyzing the Impacts of Daylighting on Students’ and Workers’ Health and Alertness

Use of Natural Light vs. Cold LED Lighting in Installations for the Recovery of Victims of Gender Violence: Impact on Energy Consumption and Victims’ Recovery

Non-Image Forming Effects of Light on Brainwaves, Autonomic Nervous Activity, Fatigue, and Performance

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