Can Lighting Affect Our Moods?

Can Lighting Affect Our Moods? Many people try a variety of things just to uplift their mood. When you’re in a good mood, you will be calm composed, and your relationships will improve, and if you’re focusing on your work, your productivity will as well. If you too are looking for a way to improve your mood, it is time to find out how lighting affects mood?

Today, we will answer this question in great detail and also help you understand how you can use lighting to your advantage. Before that, however, let us look at the very basic question.

Can Lighting Affect Our Moods?

Yes, lighting does affect your mood. In fact, with proper lighting, you can easily elevate your mood as well. If you ignore lighting, it can depress you or distract you, which means that you will not focus on the task at hand. Wondering how lighting affects our mood? We will explain that below.

Which aspects of light affect you and how?

Our body responds to the environment around us. That is why the type of light and the amount of light around us as perceived by the eye has a definite impact on our emotional state.

In case the amount of light is high, the brain perceives it as daytime and accordingly increases the energy level in the body to cope with the day-to-day activities. The brain perceives low light conditions to be night mode after sunset. That is why the brain starts to prepare the body for the rest.

This is what happens internally. That is an internal body clockwork.

Different aspects of light that have an impact on us

1. Color:

The color of the light has a definite impact on our emotional state. Depending on whether you are exposed to blacklight or white light or somewhere in between, your emotional state will vary.

Usually speaking, warmer colors of light are perceived to be daylight, and therefore, in that case, your body is alert and deceptive for commands to complete the tasks during the day.

2. Saturation:

Saturation refers to the intensity of light. Saturation also determines the color of light as perceived by the receptors of the eye. If the situation is such that it is perceived as white, blue, or orange by the eye and the brain, a strong emotional response is invoked. Similarly, saturation levels closer to colors like grey dampen the emotional reactions.

3. Brightness:

Many consumers confuse saturation with brightness. Brightness is precisely the amount of light emitted by a light source. If the light source emits 800 lm, that is the brightness of the light source.

Generally speaking, the brighter the light, the more information you will process regarding your surroundings. If the light is too bright, it can overwhelm you, and you might not be able to pick up the finer details of the surroundings. For proper focusing and to attain a calm emotional state, light with low to medium brightness is your best option.

Three aspects of light that can impact your mood

Below, we will cover some simple examples which will help you understand what type of light affects your mood in what way.

Once you are aware of what kind of light impacts your mood in what way, you can create the proper ambiance in your home as well as your office. Doing so can increase your productivity, keep and makes you calm and composed. It is now time to go through these examples to understand more.

1. Bright light improves your mood:

The lights which we use in our premises these days are LED lights. These are bright as compared to older halogen lights. Bright lights can easily elevate your mood. Just think about what happens to your mood when you walk into a well-lit room. Of course, you will be calm, comfortable, and more aware of your surroundings. That will help you in reducing your anxiety and improving your mood.

On the other hand, if you walk into a dimly lit room, your basic instincts will tell you that there is some danger in the room and therefore your tension and anxiety will increase and your mood will be ruined entirely. If you remain in such a room for a long period of time, you will feel exhausted.

Thus, if you really want to improve your mood, stick to bright light always.

2. Blue light improves energy levels:

Are you planning to use light to increase your energy levels?

If so, you need to think about using blue light. Of course, blue light always isn’t the best option. That is why multicolored light with proper color control is your best bet. That way, you can switch on to blue light whenever you need a high energy level or when engrossed in a cognitively demanding task. That will make you more energetic and also more productive.

That is why you will find that most corporate offices have at least some blue lights to increase the productivity of their employees.

3. Natural lights makes you happy:

Up until now, we were speaking about artificial light. However, natural light also has a significant impact on your mood.

Ample natural light provides you with vitamin D. It can help you elevate your mood and makes you feel better.

Throughout evolution, we have become more and more accustomed to artificial light. However, our body still craves the natural light outside. That is why a walk outside or in a garden can certainly elevate your mood due to the amount of light you are exposed to.

4. Warm light calms and comforts you:

Have you noticed what lights are used in hotels and resorts? They are lights that emit a warm glow. That is because warm-colored light can soothe you. It can relax you. Since most of us head over to hotels to relax or to have a peaceful sleep, these are the lights that most hotels use.

You can take advantage of the same lights at your home. In your bedroom, you can opt for lights that have a warm glow. That way, you will be more calm and composed and you will sleep better.

Can Lighting Affect Our Moods? – Conclusion:

So yes, lighting can affect your mood. As explained in the article above, it can elevate your mood, cause anxiety or depression, or make you happy. You need to understand how it can impact your mood and choose the right light accordingly. Our guide above serves the same purpose and can help you do so.