Smart lighting is one of the most fun ways to experiment with home automation.
Smart lights are easy to set up, program, and integrate into existing smart home systems. While some users find their initial cost prohibitive, smart bulbs offer significant savings on energy bills in the long run. Honestly, it's also fun to change the colors of the bulbs as you please or turn off all the lights in your house while you're curled up in bed!
Smart lighting is not only fun, but smart lighting systems can also be good for your health. Various scientific studies have indicated many influences of lighting on our mental and physical health. Fortunately, smart lighting can help you achieve all of these benefits in just a few steps.
Getting a good night's sleep is very important for your health. Harvard researchers found that restful sleep can help your memory, concentration, and learning ability. Conversely, not getting enough sleep can lead to a higher risk of chronic diseases, memory problems, and concentration difficulties.
If you want to sleep better 3 Relaxation techniques to help you sleep better 3 Relaxation techniques to help you sleep better Sometimes it takes a long time to fall asleep. Technology can help us sleep better with the help of better sleep habits. Try these suggestions to turn off your brain. Read More Blue light interferes with the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate your sleep cycle.
Normally, the body begins to produce melatonin when the light outside dims. However, blue light from indoor lights or your electronic devices prevents your body from interpreting these natural signals correctly.
Intelligent lighting solution - This doesn't mean just using an app to cancel the blue glow on your cell phone, tablet or computer (although apps like Flux can help Can F.lux and Night Shift really improve your sleeping habits, Can F.lux and Does Night Shift really improve your sleep habits? Excessive use of computers, tablets, and smartphones can lead to impaired sleep quality, but do apps like F.lux and Night Shift really counteract those effects? The science is quite clear on this. Read more). Science20 suggests that you consider programming your smart lighting system to automatically switch to an orange or red hue throughout your home after sunset. This will allow your body to naturally produce melatonin, which will increase your chances of getting a good night's rest.
If you struggle with your morning routine 3 Simple Ways Technology Can Help Build Your Morning Routine 3 Simple Ways Technology Can Help Build Your Morning Routine With a little thought and creativity, you can create the beginning perfect for your day, your way. If you're still working on your morning routine, here's some inspiration. Read More
Waking up in daylight helps your body produce cortisol. Like melatonin, cortisol is a key hormone in helping regulate your sleep cycle. Unlike melatonin, cortisol is responsible for waking you up and keeping you alert throughout the day. Keeping these two hormones in balance is the key to benefiting from a healthy sleep schedule.
Intelligent lighting solution - If getting up with the sun isn't ideal for you because you work night shifts, have a room without large windows, or just want to sleep a couple more hours, consider a daylight simulator. A 2010 study from the Netherlands suggests that daylight simulators decrease the effects of sleep inertia (feeling groggy for several hours after waking).
Some products like the Ario (currently in production via Kickstarter) offer this feature automatically. That said, you can program similar features into most smart lighting systems!
The risk of falling is a problem that we connect mainly with older adults. However, an increased risk of falls can affect people of any age, especially at night. The darkness and stun increase the chances of bumping into furniture, tripping over a rug, or falling.
At best, you're left with an annoying bruise. In the worst case, a fall down the stairs could cause serious health problems.
Intelligent lighting solution - Smart lighting can help you and your family members avoid these accidents. If everyone in your family has access to controls for certain lights in the house, you can easily turn on dim red lights.
These lights can provide a safe path for your midnight trips to the bathroom (or the fridge, I'm not judging) without any stimulating bright blue light.
Would you believe that lighting has a significant impact on our emotions? Media coverage provided much insight into the use of specialized blue lights to counter seasonal affective disorder Have a Happy Year:How to Fight Seasonal Affective Disorder Have a Happy Year:How to Fight Seasonal Affective Disorder The wish for “happy new year” may sound false to those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or “Winter Blues”. This roundup of tools could help improve the quality of your life. Read more (SAD). However, the lighting around us can also have more subtle influences on our emotional well-being.
Research in the Journal of consumer psychology suggests that the intensity of light in a room can influence the intensity of people's emotions while in that space.
These tendencies were present for both positive and negative emotions and reactions to a series of tests, such as judging attractiveness, hotness, or feelings towards positive/negative words.
Intelligent lighting solution - Bright lights have their place, but having a dimmer option available for your smart lights is also a good idea. Dimming the lights can help balance difficult or emotional conversations, decision making, and insights.
One of the most obvious health impacts of lighting is the strain it can put on our eyes. This is especially true in office settings, as bright lights can prevent you from focusing well on documents or a computer screen. According to the Canadian Center for Occupational Safety and Health, inadequate lighting can cause eye strain, headaches, blurred vision, or dry eyes.
Most office (or home office) jobs now require a variety of visual tasks. You can work with documents, computer screens, and other people in the same space. All of these tasks have very different lighting needs that cannot be met by a single light fixture.
Intelligent lighting solution - One of the best ways to decrease eyestrain with lighting is to have several different smart lighting fixtures in your workspace. Being able to control multiple lights allows you to direct your lighting needs to the task at hand.
For example, experts recommend that when working with documents, you use a desk lamp for task lighting with the ceiling lights dimmed. However, when you're having a meeting with a co-worker, you'll probably want your desk light to dim and your ceiling lights to use a brighter, more cheerful ambience. There are also several research-based recommendations to prevent computer-related eye strain 4 ways to prevent computer-related eye strain without losing productivity 4 ways to prevent computer-related eye strain without losing productivity Do you spend many hours in front of a computer screen? ? If you do, you're probably familiar with the unspeakable eye strain that comes with it. Headaches, burning eyes, itching, and just being tired are… Read More .
Being able to change all of these settings while sitting at your desk ensures that the settings that are best for your eyes will come out on top. You don't have to physically get up to turn the lights on or off, or to move them around the room, your automated system can do it for you.
What's really exciting about smart lighting is that it's really in its infancy. There is more research than ever exploring how light affects our bodies, moods, and psychological well-being like never before.
Now, all we have to do is wait for the technology to catch up.
A good example of this is a finding by French researchers in 2012. In their study, the researchers installed blue lights in car interiors for driving at night. They found that drivers who were exposed to blue lights were just as alert while driving as drivers who had drunk two cups of caffeine before hitting the road.!
Other potential applications for smart lighting systems include more widespread use by large businesses and industries. For example, hospitals may find that the use of smart lighting helps improve patient health by ensuring they maintain good sleep schedules while being admitted.
University lecture halls may finally strike the perfect balance between dazzling fluorescent lighting in exam rooms and sleepy students in dark lecture halls.
Large corporations can even improve employee satisfaction by giving them individual control over the lighting in their work area...hey, a girl can dream, right??
How do you use smart lighting in your daily life? Have you noticed any changes in your health or quality of sleep? Let me know in the comments!
