(LRC) — The effect of light on human health and wellbeing is one of the most discussed topics in lighting today, but also one of the least understood. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, people have a heightened awareness of environmental factors that can positively, or negatively, affect their health.
Sleep disorders, for example, are on the rise, with more than 70% of adults reporting that they obtain insufficient sleep at night. Light is the main factor impacting a person’s sleep-wake cycle, telling the body when to go to sleep and when to wake up. People in modern society spend more than 90% of their time indoors without enough light to stimulate the circadian clock. In the evening, the blue light from smartphones and computer screens makes the brain think it’s time to wake up, just as you’re getting ready for bed, resulting in feeling tired and sluggish the next day.
The Lighting Research Center’s (LRC) Online Light and Health Institute will provide information on how to use the power of light to improve health and wellbeing in schools, offices, hospitals, and homes.
Program Objectives
At the conclusion of the Institute, participants will be able to:
- Understand the latest research on the effects of light on human health and wellbeing
- Critically analyze information on light and human health
- Develop lighting designs and select lighting systems that can positively impact health and wellbeing
- Evaluate the effects of lighting design on health and wellbeing
- Calculate the impact of light from any light sources and light levels on the human circadian system
- Understand the effects of light on target populations such as older adults, adolescents, school children, shift workers, and others
- Understand the limitations of current lighting metrics (e.g., CCT, lux) in specifying light for the circadian system
- In addition, lighting manufacturers will learn how to develop lighting fixtures and systems that can be used to positively impact health.
Who should attend?
Professionals from a range of backgrounds interested in learning the latest developments on light and health, including:
- Lighting designers and specifiers
- Architects
- Engineers
- Healthcare professionals
- Facility managers and administrators
- Lighting manufacturers
- Lighting product developers and designers
Program description and schedule
The Online Light and Health Institute will include a series of eight, weekly online lecture, demonstration, and discussion sessions. There will also be offline field exercises in which participants will engage to reinforce the concepts covered in the course.
Each weekly online session will be two hours in length. Online sessions will be held on Tuesday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 PM US Eastern Time, beginning September 8, 2020 (see schedule below). There will also be an online discussion and question & answer board where participants and presenters can share information and hold informal discussions between online sessions.
Prior to the beginning of the course, all participants will be sent a Daysimeter to wear for a week as they go about their daily lives. They will also keep a log of activities, sleep times, etc. This will be returned to the LRC for analysis the first week of the course. Results will be shared (anonymously) and discussed during one of the online sessions. Each participant will receive an analysis of their own results.
More information, including a course schedule, cost, registration, and information about the presenters can be found here. Additional online course offerings can be found here.
Tagged with education, lightED, Lighting Research Center, LRC