Benefits of natural light
Is natural lighting important to you? Many people can’t stand fluorescent lighting, it can cause headaches, adverse stress responses, eye/vision problems and more. There are many documented benefits of natural light including: increased vitamin D, decreased depression, improved sleep and more. (see linked articles) Do you and your children have access to natural light where you spend the majority of your time??
I recently started a new part time position in an outpatient pediatric clinic in Stillwater, MN and I was reflecting back on my previous workplaces and experiences with (or, more so, without) natural lighting. According to Harvard Business Review, ”access to natural light and views of the outdoors are the number one attribute of the workplace environment.”
I am in love with the amount of windows in this new clinic space!!
One of my first jobs was in an outpatient mental health clinic in the basement space of a Saint Paul building. The office areas had half window that looked out onto the parking lot- not much sky could be seen. The treatment spaces where we worked with clients had no windows.
I also worked weekends at a hospital, and luckily most patient rooms had windows but the therapist office space did not.
When Brady was born and we spent time in the NICU, I realized how important access to natural lighting and outdoors was. When we were moved upstairs and had a window with an obscured view, I was so grateful for that shiny piece of glass.
I started working in home care and loved being surrounded by my car windows throughout the day, even on cloudy rainy days, it was natural daylight.
I may love natural light so much that I avoided putting blinds on our living room and dining room windows for about 5 years after we moved.
I started HOPE Grove so I could get more kids outside and benefiting from time in nature including sunlight.
This winter I took a substitute position in a school and was thrilled that the therapy gym had windows, I know this is not always the case. Most of the classrooms had big windows as well but sometimes they were covered and some classroom spaces did not have access to natural lighting.
When I interviewed with FAC in their new Stillwater location, I was so happy to see windows in all the treatment rooms (check out the view below, even on a cloudy winter day). I understand how important nature and natural lighting can be and love that even though we are inside, the great outdoors is visible just out the windows. You can see the river and the sky. It’s a great reminder to take a deep breath, take in the beauty that surrounds us and really can change how we feel.
“Outdoor light, even on a cloudy day, delivers considerably more lux than indoor light. Rainy, winter days will produce lux levels of 1000 or more, which is far greater than any inside light will produce - and on sunny, summer days, sunlight can deliver light that is one thousand times brighter than indoor light.”
Knowing all of this, I feel therapeutic spaces and spaces where we spend a majority of our time (school and work) should allow access to nature and natural lighting.
To read more about the importance of natural light visit:
https://www.healthline.com/health/natural-light-benefits
https://parentingscience.com/kids-need-daylight/
https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/blog/exposure-to-morning-sunlight
