Circadian Balanced Illumination
There is much controversy in the field of lighting around the term Human-Centric Lighting.
With the advent of research showing the effect of certain applications of light on human biology ( a relatively nascent field of study) there have been numerous claims by lighting product companies about the biological benefits accrued from the use of their products. Much of these claims are seen in the lighting design community as spurious given the lack of evidence established in their research.
While it is true that the jury is still out on establishing potential biological benefits of light on health, there is certainty that some basic applications of lighting improve people’s well-being, as evidenced in NASA’s deployment of circadian illumination for the International Space Station, the research on GSA office workers done by the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the adoption of recommendations in the Light Concept of the WELL Building Institute.
At Lightglass we are using the term Circadian Balanced Illumination© as a way to describe our approach. CBI is a cautious approach to applying lighting towards benefiting health and well-being.
We know that high intensities of light in the morning between 9 AM and noon result in healthier sleep patterns at night as a result of a process called circadian entrainment. The requisite levels of light can be determined using a calculation process called Circadian Stimulus. A calculation result of 0.3 CS or higher has been shown to provide the necessary circadian stimulus.
Lightglass achieved the following results in its circadian stimulus performance analysis:
Aside from the sleep/wake benefits derived from Lightglass, there are the psycho-emotional or biophilic benefits of the product. People have reported how much better they feel in a space with Lightglass, compared to a light deprived, windowless space. We have been receiving feedback from users that “It really feels like a window” and “It seems like it outdoors is on the other side”.
The Lightglass team will continue its commitment to follow the research on light’s effect on health and well-being, and apply that knowledge to develop products consistent with our mission to improve the quality of people’s lives through enhancing the built environment bringing the natural lighting experience to light deprived spaces.
Sincerely,
George Bosson, Chief Spiritual Officer at Lightglass
Eye image credited to : Rich Garcia – President of Martin & Paige Architecture, Inc. – San Clemente, CA
