Response to Articles discussing Electric lighting risks

Growing up I was constantly yelled at by my mother not to sit too close to the TV or too close to the computer screen.  She said that I would have to get glasses when I was older.  Well here I am 20 years old (almost 21) and I have glasses that I have to wear almost constantly.  So it comes as no surprise to me that light would def affect our health.  It seems common sense that if you spend all day in an office building with no daylight your health with decline.  However when reading these articles it was great to actually learn actual scientific definitions for why light affects our health.  Terms like Chronobiology, which describes the influence of light exposure on human physical and mental health.  Personally I have noticed myself that when I even eat in Italian restaurants, which are usually dimly lit, I get full and tired a lot faster.  Whether it’s due to the fact that Italian food is very heavy or because of how dimly lit the restaurant is.  This is definitely an important thing to remember when designing spaces in the future.  I always new light was an important aspect of design but I’m now starting to realize that not only can the lighting fixtures you select, but how bright that light is could make or break a design.  Also there seems to be an importance on where you place those fixtures and where the light is directed.  I’ve noticed even in stores like Hollister the lighting is so dark.  Especially in the dressing room.  You can barely see what color your shirt is.  There’s also a glare on all the mirrors.  I found the tips that the Influence of Architectural Lighting on Health article provided very helpful.  They are tips that I would keep in mind for the rest of my designing career.  The one that really stuck out to me is that “easy access to daylight or electrical light or sufficient level to stimulate the wake/sleep system should be provided where and when possible”.  Also I liked that they addressed the issue of glare.  I think that sometimes when designers design they rely only on the light fixture itself to perform the perfect way.  A good designer also needs to pay attention to features such as blinds, curtain, and sheers.  Another good tip that I thought that article gave was that the building orientation is so important!  “Programming of spaces for those who must work in darkness or in unnatural circadian patterns should prioritize easy access to daylight.”
There are tons of things that can cause cancer so the fact that light can cause breast cancer was no surprise to me.  The list just keeps getting longer.  Learning about health risks due to certain lighting is very important but at some point it seems like no matter what type of protection you use you’re still in risk of getting cancer.  I did not know that they could do studies that overlay satellite images of earth onto cancer registries.  Exact scientific reasons like this are very important for designers to know.  I’ve already been in situations where I knew what I was talking about but by not using the correct terms and definitions I didn’t clearly get my point across.  One very important thing that I learned, perhaps the most important was from the Claim article about daylight savings.  “It seems that when the clock is moved forward or back one hour, the body’s internal clock-it’s circadian rhythm, which uses daylight to stay in tune with its environment does not adjust.”  I never even knew we had such a thing as a circadian rhythm.  I think this can also account why during the winter we feel much more tired than during the summer.  Not only is the sun brighter in the summer but also our circadian rhythm is not on the right track.  The same is true for the winter.  As a college student I seem to be able to stay up as late as I do in the summertime but when waking up in the wintertime, I’m a lot more tired than usual.
As designers I think we tend to rely solely on electric lighting and man made objects.  However I think an important lesson that can be pulled from all three of these articles is that natural light is much better for our health.  When we use electric lighting we need to be constantly aware of how much we are being exposed to it and if we have any sort of protection from it.