Originally Published January 12, 2004 -- Your Wellness Guide

Light Up Your Life For Health and Well-Being:
Special Consumer Wellness Series 2 of 2

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#3: Choose The Best Artificial Lighting
“Not many people would argue that having a living environment that’s enjoyable to be in will make one a little happier in life!” says Philips Lighting Brand Manager Peter Soares.

Indeed, besides adding more natural light into your indoor environment, you can use quality artificial lighting to mimic sunlight and indoor natural light.  While still not as strong as a lightbox (more on this in a minute) or actual sunshine, this new type of lighting offers better color rendering and improved indoor clarity. Oftentimes this new-technology lighting is called “daylight” or “full-spectrum” lighting, which consumers should know are currently only marketing terms and do not necessarily clearly define a product’s quality or specifications. 

Currently, research is still being done on the physical effects of this improved lighting, such as its ability to improve your mood and health.  In my own experience, daylight indoor lighting has significantly improved my environment, my daily outlook, and my productivity.  Additionally, anecdotally I have heard many people comment on how bright white, daylight lighting has improved their mood.

However, from a consumer standpoint, the technical details and product specifications on daylight lighting products are unfortunately currently hard to come by  (depending on the manufacturer) with only minimal details voluntarily appearing on product packaging.  Manufacturers say that consumers get confused too easily and don’t understand  lighting’s complexities to fully disclose the quality or type of lighting they are selling.  Nevertheless, it is my feeling that consumers are smarter than these manufacturers think, especially if the information is thoughtfully presented.

As a result, wise wellness consumers will have to ask key questions in order to make the best decisions on the newest artificial lighting choices. 

Two main points of information tell you something useful about a daylight lamp: 1) the color temperature (measured in Kelvin (K) degrees) combined with 2) the Color Rendering Index (CRI); but, again, this information is currently not often on the product label or packaging and must be sought out by the consumer.  And, as a brief note, color temperature (or “K”) is not an indicator of how hot (to the touch) the bulb will be when lit but rather that the light will have a more white rather than yellow color.

In addition, all sunlight-simulating lights come in one of four types: incandescent, halogen (which is generally a brighter and whiter light with a higher energy saving than incandescent), fluorescent, and compact fluorescent.

In considering where you will add better lighting, Manager of GE’s Lighting Institute and National Lighting Bureau Board Member Mary Beth Gotti says “Customers need to take a critical look at lighting in their homes.  What types of tasks are conducted in each room?  Is there enough light for those tasks?”   Common places to first add daylight-type lighting would be your office, kitchen, bathroom, and reading/hobby areas.

Take a look at the essential questions to ask when choosing new, daylight-lighting technology bulbs online at:
http://www.terrawellington.com/TipSheets/1-daylightlightingquestions.htm

#4: Try Light Box Therapy
Finally, for those who are experiencing more severe SAD-type symptoms, don’t get any natural sunlight day after day (such as night-shift workers), or are frequently traveling through time zones, light boxes may offer a healthy dose of high-level bright light specifically created for triggering serotonin release in the brain and its related benefits. 

“When I practiced in Seattle, I had lots of patients with SAD.  I would try to get them to use light boxes and full-spectrum lighting to reduce symptoms,” says Naturopathic Dr. Walter Crinnion, professor and director of the Environmental Medicine Center of Excellence at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in the Phoenix-metropolitan area.

Previously, light boxes were large, cumbersome, and required a lot of time (up to two hours) directly near the light to get the benefit.  However, one of the newest and most promising light therapy technologies uses bright-white, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the light source.  I like the book-size Litebook (which is undergoing industry-changing FDA approval for its therapeutic benefits).  The Litebook emits no UV rays (a big plus!), fits into a purse, and lasts a long time before needing replacement.  Rea also notes that the light wavelength (which can also be measured on a spectral power distribution graph) emitted from this type of bright-white LED product is one of the best light sources available.

Insurance Broker Darren Visosky in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada (near Calgary) says that he used to get up around 4 AM to go to work in the dark during the winter.  He came home around 5 PM, which by then was also dark.  He began to suffer the body blues and was feeling very sluggish.  With The Litebook, his symptoms have disappeared by using it 30 minutes a day at an angle about 18 inches away -- such as while he does computer work.

“Now when I go home at night, I still have energy to help the wife and play with the kids,” says Visosky, who has also successfully used the product’s Time Traveler technology and light therapy for reducing jet lag.

The Litebook Company President Larry Pederson, who also uses Verilux daylight lighting  in his office and home, says that within the next eight years we will see a screw-in LED light bulb that will offer all the best benefits of a daylight-lighting product but only using six watts of energy with 100,000 hours of life.  “Lighting is one of the last things we generally spend money on, but I’m a big believer in full-spectrum versus regular lights,” says Pederson.

For a comprehensive resource list of new-technology lighting products, recommended books, and research sites, see:
http://www.terrawellington.com/TipSheets/2-healthylightingresources.htm

Look for Part One to this series, released on 1/5/04.

Wellness Wise Tip Sheets Related to This Special Two-Part Consumer Series:
Essential Questions For Daylight-Lighting Bulb Shopping
Healthy Lighting Resources
Essential Consumer Info For New Light-Based Wellness Gadgets

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