Light + Health

  New research suggests that light’s effects on sleep and circadian timing depend on the full 24-hour light environment, not just “morning light good, evening light bad.” Using a mathematical model, researchers showed that brighter daytime exposure can make the body more resilient to disruptive evening light, and they generated testable predictions about when light [...]

  The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act, last week, but the change is not law yet. The bill still needs Senate approval and a presidential signature before daylight saving time could become permanent. For the lighting industry, the bigger story is less about the clock change itself than about how a [...]

  Researchers in China report a light-activated nanocomposite that could tackle infected wounds on three fronts at once: kill bacteria, help clear the wound, and support tissue repair. In lab and mouse tests, the gold nanoparticle/graphene oxide quantum dot system plus blue LED light eradicated about 97% of bacteria and drove nearly 99% wound healing [...]

  Smart home technology can improve quality of life for people with autism, older adults, and others who benefit from added support at home. Smart home tools are more than novelty gadgets. Rather, they can be practical systems that can reduce stress, increase safety, and make daily routines more manageable. Technology works best when it [...]

  A 2022 study “Evening blue‐light exposure, maternal glucose, and infant birthweight” investigated whether exposure to blue‐enriched light in the evening during late pregnancy is linked to maternal fasting glucose levels and infant birthweight. The rationale builds on evidence that circadian disruption, melatonin suppression, and altered sleep from nighttime light exposure can influence metabolic regulation, [...]

Figure 1. Feasibility boundaries for achieving 250 m-EDI.   By Bill Chan, President, LiteController Inc. Shortly after my recent IES FIRES article, “Circadian Lighting in Offices: Feasibility Boundaries and Design Trade-Offs” was published, an architectural lighting designer left a comment on LinkedIn: “Nowadays, it’s getting [to be] a real Mission Impossible!” That brief comment perfectly [...]

  Scientists at the University of Cambridge have achieved what was once considered impossible by electrically powering insulating nanoparticles to create a completely new kind of LED. Using tiny organic “molecular antennas,” the team found a way to funnel energy into materials that normally cannot conduct electricity, producing ultra pure near infrared light with remarkable [...]

  What Is Quantum Biology? Quantum biology is an emerging scientific field that studies the role of quantum mechanics—the physics of particles at the atomic and subatomic levels—in living organisms. It explores how biological processes rely on phenomena like quantum tunneling and coherence, rather than just classical physics and standard chemistry. Researchers focus on a variety of [...]

  By Mariel Acevedo, MIES – ALR & Amanda Schaneman, MIES – ETC Trauma informed design (TID) is a newer form of practice in the architectural community.  It’s been around since 2013 and is gaining traction in all kinds of building types.  As the work becomes more prominent, the lighting community should understand the language [...]