Daylight and health: A review of the evidence and consequences for the built environment

Abstract

Daylight has been associated with multiple health advantages. Some of these claims are associations, hypotheses or beliefs. This review presents an overview of a scientific literature search on the proven effects of daylight exposure on human health. Studies were identified with a search strategy across two main databases. Additionally, a search was performed based on specific health effects. The results are diverse and either physiological or psychological. A rather limited statistically significant and well-documented scientific proof for the association between daylight and its potential health consequences was found. However, the search based on specific health terms made it possible to create a first subdivision of associations with daylight, leading to the first practical implementations for building design.

Systematic review on the interaction between office light conditions and occupational health: Elucidating gaps and methodological issues

“…Borisuit et al 33 and Münch et al 34 mentioned the importance of daylight availability for occupant's work satisfaction and alertness during the day. This unanimous agreement in the importance of daylight is in accordance to Galasiu and Veitch 19 as well as Aries et al 22 .…”

“…Light with shorter wavelengths could trigger the greatest ipRGc response 2 and since daylight is rich in this bluish part of the spectrum, this may explain why individuals prefer daylight during the day. In 2013, Aries et al 22 presented an overview of all proven effects of daylight exposure on human health and reported rather limited scientific evidence of the association between daylight and its health consequences. They recommended further research to focus on the nature of why some individuals prefer daylight and others do not, how the dose-response curves for alertness, performance and mood should be interpreted, and the effect of daylight on human health in the general population.…”

Modulation of the Intensity of the Spectral Components of Polychromatic Light within Certain Regions in Space by Passive Methods by Strategically Using Material Optical Properties and Texture

“…Light, defined as electromagnetic radiation to which the human retina is sensitive [1], has been studied as part of architectural environments to provide visual comfort and to improve human mood and alertness [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Today, there is an effort to differentiate "visual lighting levels" from "biological lighting levels" [8], and a need to understand human physiological and behavioral responses to electromagnetic radiation [9][10][11][12], because light entering the eye does not only serve vision, but also our circadian system [13][14][15]. Light affects our circadian timing [16][17][18][19][20], alertness [21,22], core body temperature [22], heart rate [22][23][24], cortisol production [25], and objective alertness [26][27][28].…”

An Energy Efficient Lighting Design Strategy to Enhance Visual Comfort in Offices with Windows

“…While lighting is estimated to represent roughly 40% of total electric usage in office buildings, it has been reported that daylight harvesting can lead to 20-77% savings in the lighting consumption of buildings [6,7]. Daylight availability inside buildings can also have multiple health advantages for building users, such as decreasing fatigue, relieving seasonal affective disorder, and diminishing depressive symptoms [8]. Access to daylight can provide information about time and weather, as well as reducing feelings of isolation, stress, and claustrophobia [9,10].…”