We’ve written in the past about how lighting can influence our mood and even our health, but for some people quality of light has a direct impact on quality of life in a way it doesn’t for many of us.
This is because of a debilitating condition called (SAD), which, as its nickname ‘winter depression’ implies, can lay some sufferers low for weeks or even months at this time of the year.
So, to coincide with this December, in this piece we’re going to take a look at what causes SAD, and how a particular kind of lighting approach – biophilic – can help to alleviate it, and create sustainable environments that promote health and wellbeing.
SAD: what causes it?
SAD is a kind of clinical depression triggered by changes in the seasons (usually the transition into autumn and winter), and, as such, it’s closely linked to the quality and availability of natural light.
In SAD sufferers, the normal reactions of the brain to changes in light (production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin in darkness, and production of mood-enhancing serotonin in light) are out of kilter during the darker months. This can cause sleepiness, moodiness, and other changes in personality.
Unlike many other depressions, therefore, the onset, duration, and cessation of SAD can often be fairly easy to predict, but not in all cases. And in any event, predictability doesn’t make the condition any easier for its sufferers, who number around .
But the good news about SAD is that it can usually be alleviated by exposure to additional light of the right kind. But what does that light look like?
SAD and light therapy
Because the root cause of SAD is thought to be underexposure to natural light forms like daylight and sunlight, SAD therapy often depends on using lamps and lightboxes that imitate that natural light. Sitting by one of these devices for 30 minutes to an hour each morning can improve SAD sufferers’ mood considerably.
The light produced is very bright and simulates the sunlight that's missing during the darker months. Ultimately, it encourages your brain to reduce the production of melatonin and increase the production of serotonin, thus restoring that all-important mood balance.
It can be a very effective fix for a temporary problem, but what if interior lighting were simply more in step with our bodies’ varying needs all day (and year) round?
What if we didn’t have to treat SAD because interior lighting had helped ward off its effects in the first place?
And this is where biophilic lighting comes into its own.
How does biophilic lighting work?
Biophilic lighting is a lighting design concept that broadly mimics the light patterns and cycles experienced in nature, but in an indoor setting.
More sophisticated, nuanced, and immersive than SAD light treatment, it involves adjusting interior lighting to align with the body’s circadian rhythm - the 24-hour biological sleep-wake cycle we explore briefly in this article.
Biophilic lighting achieves this by carefully controlling light intensity, colour temperature, and distribution, to imitate natural light conditions throughout the day.
LED lights are important here, as many of them can not only be dimmed to control their intensity but tuned to control their colour temperature.
This means that, through the day, they can imitate the varying blueish white light of both morning and early evening light - both important in preventing the symptoms of SAD and maintaining wakefulness – whilst also replicating the effect of gradually weakening light, which triggers the body’s sleep response.
The controllability of the lighting is absolutely key here, so an innovation like Maytoni’s , which enables intelligent remote control of tracked LED lighting from a smartphone, is a very biophilic-friendly accessory.
And as we observed above, lighting distribution is also critical in imitating how natural light falls, diffuses, reflects, and focuses over time. Varying the light distribution in a room or space, and using different kinds of lighting – ambient, task, accent - can all help to echo this effect, as our recent article on layered lighting shows.
Aesthetics, design, and wider wellbeing
But it’s important to recognise that lighting - and its ability to help prevent SAD – is just one dimension of the fascinating biophilic discipline.
Aesthetics and design also play an indispensable role, with nature-like water features, calming plants, and harmonious décor all proven, in studies, to complement the biophilic effect of lighting, improving wellbeing and even on productivity.
And Maytoni’s lighting solutions, with their timeless design, understated elegance, and sustainable credentials, fit right into these holistic, healthful, healing environments.
A welcome thought for both SAD sufferers and the rest of us, as winter descends upon us.
