The Effect of Daylight Illumination in Nursing Buildings on Reading Comfort of Elderly Persons

Abstract

Reading is one of the popular activities among elderly persons. A reasonable level of daylight illumination can ensure the visual comfort of reading for elderly persons. State arousal level and subjective comfort report are important parameters reflecting the effect of daylight illumination on visual comfort of reading in elderly persons. In this study, daylight illumination measurements were conducted in a nursing institution of Shenyang, China. Moreover, the methods of electrodermal activity (EDA) physiological index measurement and questionnaire scoring were used to compare and analyze the state arousal level and visual comfort of elderly persons under different illumination conditions. The results show that when elderly persons were involved in their daily reading activity, the acceptable daylight illumination range was between 300 and 1000 lx. When the daylight illumination was between 600 and 800 lx, the state arousal level and visual comfort was high; when it was 700 lx, the state arousal level and visual comfort was the highest. Although 500 and 900 lx both indicated neutral illumination, the evaluations were more consistent at 500 lx than at 900 lx. At 300, 400, and 1000 lx, visual comfort was poor and the state arousal level was low. At 300 lx, visual comfort was the worst and the state arousal level was the lowest. This study provides a reliable reference for architects to design the daylight conditions of the living spaces of the elderly.

Indoor Environmental Quality and Occupant Comfort

“…The articles published on this topic are representative of the exploration of comfort evaluations, and researchers have found that the positive design of the environment can significantly improve comfort. They cover a diverse range of occupant types, including studies on the elderly [14], visually impaired individuals [15], and infants [16]. The examined architectural types and geographic locations also vary, including historical residents in Zanzibar [17], school buildings under both severely cold areas in China [18] and mild climate areas in Japan [16], and office buildings in North China and America [19].…”

“…The examined architectural types and geographic locations also vary, including historical residents in Zanzibar [17], school buildings under both severely cold areas in China [18] and mild climate areas in Japan [16], and office buildings in North China and America [19]. These articles have investigated the impact of acoustic [15,20], lighting [14], and thermal [16][17][18][19] indoor environmental quality on comfort.…”

A Study in Bedroom Living Environment Preferences of the Urban Elderly in China

“…This study found that elderly people attach much importance to long light duration, large area and comfortable and environmentally friendly materials. Fu et al found that the most comfortable lighting range for elderly people to read during daytime was 600-800 lx, and 700 lx was optimal [49]. Meanwhile, a study showed that both higher temperature and CO2 concentration were negatively correlated with better sleep quality in the elderly [19].…”