Impact of Light on Health and Welfare

Justin McNair

The Interrelations of Light and Health

The human body is constantly bombarded with fluctuations between light and darkness so it is no stretch for me to believe that light would have beneficiary and deficient qualities on human health. SAD is a depression disorder caused by inadequate exposure to light, and I believe there are at least two theories as to why. For one, humans have to methods of judging light, our biological, circadian clock that is controlled by light patterns and the clock we control through standard time. I think it is reasonable to say that these two ‘standards’ of time sometimes clash, especially during the transition periods in the Spring and Fall. This creates confusion for our bodies, resulting in negative health affects. Besides the clash of circadian time and standard time, there are seasonal intensities to light patterns. In the summer there are long periods of natural light while in the winter there are short periods of natural light. This extension of polar intensities can create biological anxiety resulting in depression. Another consideration is to formulate a healthy balance between natural light and artificial alternatives because people who have been exposed primarily to artificial lighting, without easy access to day lighting, experience increased cancer rates. Furthermore, artificial sources don’t provide the wide spectrum of light patterns, as does daylight while also not assimilating the same benefits such as vitamin D gain. Our circadian rhythm relies on light patterns, hormones, and receptor cells that monitor the light patterns. When environments promote intensities in levels of light to dark ratios our bodies are thrown off balance because our bodies are stimulated by bright, white light. In the winter, we go through bright white light withdrawals and therefore cognitive activation slows and we become drowsy and depressed. In the summer, there may actually be too much stimulate light and we become cognitively sapped of energy than then leads to depression. This means that light effected health problems do exist and that it is a part of our biological being; it is consequently the work of designers and that must provide physiological alleviation through medicine and construction and a myriad of other professions.