Here’s why you need to work in natural daylight…
Don’t you just hate how dull and dingy the office looks after the sun has set and the overhead lights come on? There’s no inspiration to work hard, and you just feel tired and drained thanks to the weak lighting.
Did you know fluorescent lights are unhealthy? Not only do they sap your will to work and make you more tired, but they can actually cause health problems! Read on to find out everything you need to know…
They Reduce Alertness
Natural lighting is what helps you to be alert and awake all day long. Your body is designed to produce melatonin after dark, which helps you to feel drowsy and sleepy. When the sun comes up in the morning, your body dials back the melatonin production in order for your body to wake up properly. The low melatonin production throughout the day is what keeps you from feeling sleepy until after the sun falls again.
But with fluorescent lights, there’s none of that natural brightness that you get with the light of the sun. To your body, it seems like the sun is setting, which means that it’s time to dial up melatonin production. The more melatonin you produce, the sleepier you feel and the less alert you are. Thanks to fluorescent lights, it’s even harder to stay focused and alert in the afternoon.
They Spend More Energy
You know that the light of day keeps you nice and warm. The sun releases heat as well as light, so you get that warm, pleasant sensation that comes from spending time in the light of the sun. But with fluorescent light, there is no heat to keep you warm. That means your body has to burn calories to warm you up.
When the office gets cold and there’s no light to warm it up, your body has to expend energy to stay warm. This means that you use more calories than you should, and on something as silly as staying warm in your office. With natural sunlight, it’s much easier to stay warm!
READ MORE: Electric Ladyland–The Fluorescent Museum
They Cause Health Problems
The light of the sun is a pretty consistent thing, but fluorescent lights flicker. There is a gas that glows when an electric current is passed through the bulb, but the flow of power isn’t a constant thing. There is a part of the bulb that pulses electricity through the bulb at high speeds, but not high enough that the light is consistent. The light of the fluorescent bulb flickers at a high speed, which may make it look that the light is always on but to the subconscious mind, the flicker is noticeable.
You know how flashing strobe lights can cause epilepsy? This is because your brain is very sensitive to light, and flashing lights can cause damage to the brain. The flicker of the fluorescent light has been known to cause a wide variety of health problems, including:
- Headaches
- Eye Strain/Tiredness
- Stress/Anxiety
- Migraines
To top it off, the poor lighting is known to affect the body’s natural chemistry thanks to the fact that it can affect your natural circadian rhythms. A number of health problems have been linked to these lights, including:
- Eye strain
- Headaches/migraines
- Endocrine disruption
- Seasonal Affect Disorder/depression
- Stress/anxiety
- Obesity
- and many more…
As you can see, fluorescent lights are NOT good for your health, but they will actually do your body quite a good deal of harm. It’s time to get away from these lights and find a better, more natural source of lighting!
