Your mood not only affects your productivity but also your overall wellbeing. Research has shown that the type and amount of light you get throughout the day can directly affect your energy levels and the way you feel. While poor lighting can contribute to energy deficiencies and even depression, quality lighting that’s adjusted to your unique and specific needs can be relaxing or uplifting. Here are some practical lighting tips that you can use to positively impact your wellness and productivity.
Benefits of LED Lighting
Here’s an important fact: your body’s 24-hour cycle is governed by hormonal responses that are triggered by full-spectrum light. You can get this type of light from sunlight and LED lighting, but not fluorescent light. In other words, it’s important to get out in the sun, but it’s also highly beneficial to install LED lights in your home.
LED lights offer benefits including improved concentration, lower stress, and increased concentration. LED has even been used in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), resulting in a generally healthier and happier state. Additionally, the even light distribution of LEDs results in more saturated and vivid colors for an overall higher quality experience you’ll enjoy.
Selecting the Proper Dimmer
Watching a movie. Reading a book. Enjoying a meal. Every activity has its own specific lighting needs. That’s why light switches with dimmers, which give you the flexibility to light a room or space to exacting specifications, are invaluable.
Generally speaking, brighter and stronger lights work better for daytime and dimmer lights work better at night. If you’re working or reading, you’ll want a brighter light that allows you to see without straining. If you’re having a romantic dinner, you’ll want a softer, dimmable LED light that makes the environment conducive to relaxation. Either way, when your overhead lights and lamps are wired for dimming, you can achieve the exact environment you want.
Additionally, if you haven’t shopped for dimmer switches in a while, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the smart and stylish modern dimmers.
Choosing the Right Color Temperature
You want to make sure that your lighting is emitting the right color temperature for the room you inhabit and the particular task in which you partake. Know that low color temperature lights (about 2,000-4,000 Kelvin) emit “warm” red, orange, and yellow hues.
Mid-range color temperature lights (about 4,000 to 5,000 Kelvin) emit “cool” white hues. High color temperature lights (about 5,000-7,000 Kelvin) emit “cool” violet and blue hues. So how exactly does this apply to your space and productivity? Use low color temperature lights in intimate areas of your home, like your bedroom or bath environment, to create a sense of comfort and relaxation. Use mid-range color temperature lights in areas that are welcoming, but still require a degree of alertness, like the kitchen or laundry room.
Finally, use high color temperature lights in areas you use as workspaces to promote improved alertness and productivity. Keep in mind that even minor adjustments to lighting can create markedly improved results.
The Best Lighting for Different Settings
Depending on the setting you’re in and what you’re doing within it, you’ll want to create a lighting scheme that allows you to thrive. For a workspace, you’ll want some form of concentrated task lighting. This type of lighting provides a finer light for things like reading, writing, cooking, and sewing. It not only helps you see more details in your work but also stimulates your brain for higher quality results.
Pendants, swing arm lamps and vanity lights can all serve as task lighting. For a more relaxing environment, like your rec room or bedroom, choose ambient lighting. This type of lighting, also referred to as mood lighting, is the perfect type of lighting to bathe yourself in after a stressful day. As an example of its effects, many yoga studios use ambient lighting in their classrooms to give off that chill vibe. Recessed, track and ceiling lights are all good ways to achieve ambient light.
Lighting That Eliminates Dark Corners and Glare
Lighting a room is most certainly an art, but it’s also a science. It’s about angles, reflections and the layering of light sources to create the look you want. Often, it takes a coordinated effort to not only light the room but then also fix dark corners and glares.
Lamps are one of the best ways to light up dark corners. A well-placed floor lamp or table lamp can help disperse light and fill in dark nooks and crannies. As for glare, which can impair your task or at worst, keep you from completing it at all, there are several things you can do.
Relocating the light source or relocating your task to a different and more favorable location, are the obvious choices. You could try using blinds or shades on windows to change or block the angles of sunlight entering the space. There are also special lenses and diffusing devices that can alter a fixture’s light output to your advantage.
Four Lighting Fixtures to Improve Your Mood
Now that you have a feel for some of the lighting elements that can contribute to your productivity and good vibes, here are some products to consider when lighting your home environment.
SONNEMAN Tik Tak LED Pendant
Whether you’re looking for direct or indirect illumination for your space, the Tik Tak LED Pendant by SONNEMAN has got you covered. Minimalist, yet dynamic, four bars with integrated LEDs are stacked to create a nested feel. Each rod is height adjustable and can be independently positioned to provide vibrant illumination.
Access Lighting Solid LED Flush Mount
For good, solid, all-around light, the Solid LED Flush Mount by Access Lighting is dimmable and available in a “Warm Dimming” model. It features a handsome brushed steel finish and an opal shade.
AFX Boon LED Wall Sconce
A great piece for ambient light is the Boon LED Wall Sconce by AFX. It features downlight illumination in a decorative cut metal housing with a durable powder-coated finish.
Mitzi by Hudson Valley Arden Table Lamp
Last, but not least, is the Arden LED Table Lamp from Mitzi by Hudson Valley, perfect for the bedside. Inspired by modern and Art Deco design, it features clear crackle glass and a low voltage dimmer.
No matter what environment you work in, there’s always a way to adjust and refine the lighting so that it serves your mood and productivity better. With an enhanced lighting scheme and elevated wellbeing, think of the great things you’ll accomplish next.