LIGHTING (CONT) .
Serotonin levels are connected to feelings of well-being and happiness. They are higher when the weather is sunny, and lower when it is cloudy.
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A. Biological Our circadian rhythm is a biological clock that is linked to light; the cycle of night and day.
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Midday
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By processing information from light we are able to see - but evidence has shown that we have photosensitive cells which respond to light through a non-visual pathway and these control our circadian clocks. The body adapts to different phases of the day and our body clocks regulate critical functions such as behaviour, hormone levels, sleep, body temperature andmetabolism. Our well-being is affected when there is a temporary mismatch between our external environment and our internal biological clock. Jet lag is one example, where travel crosses different time zones. Studies have also shown that workers with no access to daylight can be out of sync to a natural circadian rhythmby as much as two hours. In themiddle of the day, we refer to the light as blue light.
This light is stimulating. Decision making and reaction times aremuch faster under blue light than under red light. The termblue light is used to describe natural light in the day. Blue wavelengths are the first to be scattered when they pass through the atmosphere, as blue light travels in shorter waves. This gives the sky a blue appearance. In the evening the light from the sun has a red quality. Light has to travel further through the atmosphere because of the angle of the earth in relation to the sun. As a result, particles in the atmosphere cause the red wavelengths to scatter, and therefore give the sky a red cast in the evening. Red light increases melatonin production, the hormone that helps us to sleep. For healthy biological clocks, we need access to lots of natural light during the day. Without exposure to natural light, wemay become drowsy or find it harder to concentrate.
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Natural light is variable and changes constantly throughout a 24 hr cycle.
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We spend 90% of our time indoors, yet inmany places the light in our buildings can equate to the same as just a quarter of daylight on a rainy day. A common issue is that we have too little light during the day and toomuch of the wrong type of light at night time. Tablets, televisions and phones emit blue light and can delay sleep if used late at night. A lack of sleep is linked to a large number of negative symptoms. There has become an increasing awareness of the need for human centric lighting that emulates the natural cycle of daylight.
This natural cycle of daylight strengthens our sleep/wake cycle and connects us to a sense of time. There aremany benefits in the work place, in healthcare and at home for lighting that can improve productivity, general well-being and healthy sleep patterns. Casinos have been designed to disconnect us from any association with a sense of time; very often they are artificially lit with no natural light coming in, that would remind us we have been gambling through the night.
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Midnight
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