The colour of your white lamps do more than light the space.
We know instinctively that light plays a huge part in the rhythms of our day. We tend to prefer the longer days where daylight is at its maximum and we can get up when it’s light and extend our days outdoors, enjoying the last rays of the sun until late evening. We know this but the reasons behind it are less well-known. Artificial light can go some way towards combatting the effects of the shorter, winter days where we usually feel less motivated.
Did you know that the different types of lights we subject ourselves to actually affect our level of alertness? By understanding the effects of the colour of everyday white light, we can make sure we design spaces with the right sort of light for the activities we assign to those spaces. For example, we need relaxing, sleep-inducing light to rest, but a different kind of light to read by. And this distinction is all about different kinds of white lights that we encounter every day.
The two rules of white lamps:
COOL WHITE (or light with a bluish tint) keeps us awake
A cool white delays the onset of melatonin levels – our sleep hormone. This is why a bluer light is good for activity, alertness and output levels.
Recommend: minimum of 6,500 kelvin
WARM LIGHT (or light with a yellow undertone) relaxes us
A warmer white has less direct impact on us but it does have strong associations with warmth and being cosy.
Recommend: Less than 3000 kelvin
Look around you right now and calculate the kind of light you have around you. Then consider the kind of state you are in – are you working, relaxing, active, inactive? Does the light tone suit your activity?
On this basis, you should change all of your relaxing zones to warm white light and your activity areas – office, kitchen and workshops to cool lights. If we reflect this within our commercial spaces you can do exactly the same. If you have a cosy environment you may well notice a spike in productivity if you sharpen it up with some cool white lights instead!
In some instances you may prefer to have both kinds of light within the same space – talk to us about how this is possible. If you imagine a restaurant situation where you may prefer daylight blues for a busy ‘start to the day’ breakfast service, switching to a more atmospheric warm glow in the evening when people are winding down.
We can help you incorporate the right kinds of lights for every situation.