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Search results for: CIRCADIAN LIGHTING
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Make lighting healthier
PublicationLife on Earth evolved in day-and-night cycles. Plants and animals, including insects such as the fruit fly, have a biological clock that controls their circadian rhythms — as the 2017 winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine showed. Now, humans’ increasing reliance on artificial lighting is changing those rhythms.
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Lighting Design for the 21st Century Applied research in lighting practice
PublicationFor those who are unfamiliar with research, it’s important to know there are two categories. Fundamental (or basic) research and applied research. Basic research often discusses scientific ideas/theories, whereas, applied research explores testing these ideas in practice to develop technology or techniques. It’s applied research which most interests lighting practitioners. Great lighting design that creates a pleasant and beneficial...
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Reducing nighttime light exposure in the urban environment to benefit human health and society
PublicationNocturnal light pollution can have profound effects on humans and other organisms. Recent research indicates that nighttime outdoor lighting is increasing rapidly. Evidence from controlled laboratory studies demonstrates that nocturnal light exposure can strain the visual system, disrupt circadian physiology, suppress melatonin secretion, and impair sleep. There is a growing body of work pointing to adverse effects of outdoor lighting...
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Journey towards light – evolutionary adaptations of humans, flora and fauna. Guidelines for safe and healthy illumination
PublicationThe paper examines using relatively recent discoveries on how evolution has embedded within all living organisms a natural sensitivity towards their native environment, in particular luminance levels and specific wavelengths of light. The studies conducted so far indicate that lighting installations that are visible after dark impact on humans, flora and fauna and influence our evolutionary dispositions, possibly with negative...
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Home Sweet Home. Connecting the dots for healthy evening residential illumination
PublicationDuring the twentieth century, lighting designers would commonly use incandescent light sources for residential homes as they provided a visual comfort, with high quality colour rendering properties, along with relaxing ambient atmosphere. Unfortunately, it’s now difficult to buy incandescent light sources because they have been banned in many countries (https://bit.ly/2GwN2Wv). This article addresses some of the challenges in regards...
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Influence of the Spectral Quality of Light on Daytime Alertness Levels in Humans
PublicationExposure to light is very important for human health. However, the characteristics of the light stimulus and the appropriate timing of such exposure are essential. Studies that have used monochromatic light exposure have shown no systematic patterns for the effects of blue light compared to longer wavelengths. Previous studies have shown that red light exposure increases objective and subjective measures of alertness at night without...
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Human Centric Lighting. The New X Factor?
PublicationWe live in challenging times, and one could even claim we’re experiencing a revolution in lighting with LED technology taking over the world. Part of this rapid change involves a concept called Human Centric Lighting (HCL). In Frankfurt this year, during Light+Building, it was the buzzword, with nearly every second manufacturer’s stand claiming they had figured out the special formula necessary to create perfect HCL illumination....