Lighting Controls and Color Temperature Improve Lives of Seniors

by | Feb 16, 2023 | 0 comments |

Studies have found that implementing lighting controls showed major health improvements to seniors and other people in long term facilities. When installing lighting controls, you can set the lights to run on a circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is when the lights follow a 24-hour cycle to the sun’s daylight and nighttime. To keep a circadian rhythm within a home for facility, morning will have low intensity in the morning, high intensity in the afternoon, back to low in the evening and no light when its time for bed. During the daylight hours there will be more intense blue lights, then warmer-yellow color temperature in the evening.

This type of strategy improves the health of people who cannot regularly go outside, like seniors in care facilities, patients in hospitals or people within prisons. Color temperature plays a crucial role in peoples health. Exposure to blue-enriched light helps improve cognitive function and alertness. When bodies are kept on a circadian rhythm it also helps improve sleep. Within the elderly community, it has proven to help reduce falls by 43%. Falls are one of the leading causes of injury within American adults 65 and older.

“Falls among care home residents have major health and economic implications, and this study is the first of its kind to translate the known beneficial effects of tunable lighting on neurocognitive responses into a real-world setting and examine if changes in lighting spectrum and intensity throughout the day can reduce the risk of falls in the elderly,” said Shadab Rahman, Ph.D. MPH, Investigator in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Click here to read the study, published August 11, 2022 by the Midwest Lighting Institute.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Blogs You Might Be Interested In

The Different Types of Commercial Electrical Wiring

The Different Types of Commercial Electrical Wiring

Commercial buildings have different electrical wiring requirements compared to residential structures. There are also different types of electrical wiring, each designed for specific applications. For example, wiring for electronics differs from what is required for...

Business Signage – Communicating with Your Customers

Business Signage – Communicating with Your Customers

Business signage includes everything from wall, floor, sidewalk and window signage to digital displays and entertainment monitors. Each type of signage often serves a different purpose but when it’s done right it makes communicating with your customers easier....

Backup Power Supply Crucial for Healthcare

Backup Power Supply Crucial for Healthcare

Electricity is a large part of our lives, and a backup power supply is crucial for several industries, especially healthcare facilities. Without a backup power supply, it can mean the difference between life and death in hospitals and other types of healthcare...

News You Might Be Interested In

New Programs Help Healthcare Facilities Implement Sustainability

New Programs Help Healthcare Facilities Implement Sustainability

Hospitals across the country are putting more focus on sustainability throughout their facility. Studies show that hospitals are one of the leading industries that use the most amount of energy. Health systems are taking part in sustainability programs in order to cut...

Circadian Rhythm Helps Effects of Daylight Savings

Circadian Rhythm Helps Effects of Daylight Savings

Every year, daylight savings time rolls around, and it remains brighter later into the evening. Whenever the clocks move forward or backwards it has an impact on people’s health especially their sleep cycle because of the change in daylight. Studies have shown that...

Strategies to Light a Commercial Facility

Strategies to Light a Commercial Facility

Improving lighting within a commercial building can be easily done in multiple ways. How an area is lit can have an effect on the space itself. Lighting fixtures should be customized and placed strategically depending on how the space is being used. Offices tend to...

Join Our Community

Thousands of business professionals rely on Action Services Group for the latest in Lighting,
Signage, and Electrical news. Add yourself to our community and receive timely updates on
safety, new products, energy savings, rebates, and so much more.
You can select what information you would like to receive.