LIGHT THERAPY

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Why do we need natural sunlight?
According to evolutionary theory, our species developed under sunlight, which is completely natural for us and makes us feel good. A lack of sunlight can lead to overall weakening of the body and contribute to various ailments. Our ancestors used to say: "Where the sun doesn't go, the doctor does." Just 120 years ago, most people still worked outdoors; today, however, we spend most of our day indoors under artificial lighting. This is why the quality of artificial light is important, which can be understood as how closely it resembles natural sunlight.

The connection between light, colors, darkness, and vision
Darkness, as the opposite of light, is equally necessary. Only in darkness does the level of the sleep hormone melatonin increase, which ensures body regeneration, scavenges free radicals, and removes cells that have gone out of control. That's why it's important not to be overly disturbed by light during sleep. It is not light alone, nor darkness alone, but the alternation of these polarities that keeps us alive.

Light affects overall health
Vision is only one of the ways light affects us. Scientists have been studying the effects of light on the nervous system and hormones since the mid-20th century. It was only in 2007 that a new type of photoreceptor was discovered in the human retina: photosensitive ganglion cells. They are neighbors to the well-known rods and cones, but their function is non-visual – they transmit information to the central nervous system about whether it is day or night. Based on this signal, the central biological clock in the brain, located beneath the optic chiasm, regulates our circadian (roughly daily) rhythm of wakefulness and sleep. Photosensitive ganglion cells are particularly sensitive to blue light. When they receive enough, they send a signal to the nervous system that it is daytime and we should be awake and active. Full-spectrum light comes closest to sunlight in this activating component as well.

Not all light is the same
While outdoor light at noon ranges from 20,000 to 100,000 lux, indoor lighting usually measures in the hundreds or low thousands of lux – only about one percent! It is also known that the need for light increases with age; a senior requires about 15 times more light for reading than a school-aged child. The activating effects of artificial light on the nervous system also depend on the proportion of blue light. Warm white light contains only about a third of this component compared to sunlight. In recent years, many people have been disappointed with the light from energy-saving sources meant to replace banned incandescent bulbs. Full-spectrum light provides significantly better color rendering.

What light is best?
The ideal light for vision is, of course, sunlight. Artificial light can resemble it to varying degrees, in terms of intensity, color tone at different times of day, or color rendering quality. Therefore, it is good to have brighter, cooler-toned light available for work and softer, warmer-toned light for relaxation. Before sleep, it is best to use dim warm light with minimal activating blue component, resembling the setting sun.