It is a fact that light is one of the basics for life on earth. Just think:
Sunlight manages the photosynthesis of plants, where light energy transforms to
chemical energy. The length of daylight affects plants' and animals'
propagation, the change of seasons. In exactly the same way light is affecting
us humans. The light is not just directed through the eye to our brain's vision
centre. It also affects the thyroid gland, which produces the sleeping hormone
melatonin that makes us sleepy at night.
In daylight, the pineal gland
stops making melatonin. Instead the stress hormone cortisol is produced in the
adrenal cortex gland. But, if we lose a lot of light on account of the dark
season, the pineal gland continues to send out its melatonin even during
daytime. After a while our body does not know whether it is night or day - if we
should go to sleep or stay awake. Therefore, the lighting at work has greater
significance than what we may think. You can create a stimulating working
environment by the help of a lighting solution combining general lighting the
individual lighting to a comfortable lighting level that is spread evenly in the
eye and reaches the whole retina.
Light through
life
The lighting must be adjusted according to your age, the task
you perform, the size of your workingstation and your surroundings. The eye
changes with time, and already in your forties you will notice that your
eyesight is getting worse. You will need glasses when you read, watch
television, drive your car or work on your computer. First of all you require
more light to be able to carry out the same tasks. A person in his forties
requires the double amount of light as a 20 year old to read and write. At
higher age the need for light increases dramatically.
When we plan the
lighting in a workplace it is specifically important to consider all employees
and their tasks, it requires individually adjusted lighting.