It is a fact that light is one of the basics for life on earth. Just think: Sunlight manages the photosynthesis of plants, where light energy transforms to chemical energy. The length of daylight affects plants' and animals' propagation, the change of seasons. In exactly the same way light is affecting us humans. The light is not just directed through the eye to our brain's vision centre. It also affects the thyroid gland, which produces the sleeping hormone melatonin that makes us sleepy at night.
In daylight, the pineal gland stops making melatonin. Instead the stress hormone cortisol is produced in the adrenal cortex gland. But, if we lose a lot of light on account of the dark season, the pineal gland continues to send out its melatonin even during daytime. After a while our body does not know whether it is night or day - if we should go to sleep or stay awake. Therefore, the lighting at work has greater significance than what we may think. You can create a stimulating working environment by the help of a lighting solution combining general lighting the individual lighting to a comfortable lighting level that is spread evenly in the eye and reaches the whole retina.
Light through life
The lighting must be adjusted according to your age, the task you perform, the size of your workingstation and your surroundings. The eye changes with time, and already in your forties you will notice that your eyesight is getting worse. You will need glasses when you read, watch television, drive your car or work on your computer. First of all you require more light to be able to carry out the same tasks. A person in his forties requires the double amount of light as a 20 year old to read and write. At higher age the need for light increases dramatically.
When we plan the lighting in a workplace it is specifically important to consider all employees and their tasks, it requires individually adjusted lighting.