Indoor Annual Sunlight Opportunity in Domestic Dwellings May Predict Well-Being in Urban Residents in Scotland

Abstract

Well-being and Indoor Sunlight 2 Indoor sunlight improves health in hospitals, schools and workplaces, and there is clinical evidence for the impact on depression, but there is a lack of evidence for a positive impact of sunlight in domestic dwellings on residents' health and well-being. This could have important implications for building design and resident's indoor behavior, and impacts on health. Using a cross-sectional survey we investigated the relationship between annual indoor sunlight opportunity and psychological well-being in 40 residents of high-rise dwellings in a socio-economically deprived area in Glasgow, Scotland.Perceived physical health, physical activity, psychological distress and indoor environmental factors were considered as mediators of the relationship between annual sunlight opportunity and well-being. We used novel simulation modeling of window size, orientation, occlusion and occupant behavior to measure annual sunlight opportunity.We found a significant positive association between well-being and annual indoor sunlight opportunity, but not between sunlight and objective indoor environmental variables such as air quality, bacteria and fungi. Perceived physical health, lower psychological distress, more physical activity and better perceived environmental quality were associated with greater psychological well-being. Perceived physical health was the only variable which mediated the impact of sunlight on well-being. Findings merit replication in larger and more heterogeneous samples but have implications for building design and advice to residents on window occlusion. wordsWell-being and Indoor Sunlight 3

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