Natural Light at Office keeps Workers Healthy, Happy

Exposure to natural light at office keeps workers healthy and happy, researchers say.

A study conducted by researchers at the Northwestern Medicine and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that people working in well-lit offices reported better sleep quality, more physical activity and higher mental wellbeing than office-workers exposed to low levels of natural light. Happy, healthy employees are known to be more productive than others.

Related research has shown that exposure to natural light is associated with lower body mass index and smaller waist sizes.

The research shows that architectural designs that place more importance on natural light must be encouraged while designing office spaces.

"There is increasing evidence that exposure to light, during the day, particularly in the morning, is beneficial to your health via its effects on mood, alertness and metabolism," said Phyllis Zee, M.D., a Northwestern Medicine neurologist and sleep specialist, senior author of the study, according to a news release. "Workers are a group at risk because they are typically indoors often without access to natural or even artificial bright light for the entire day. The study results confirm that light during the natural daylight hours has powerful effects on health."

The study was based on data from 49 day-shift office workers, of whom 22 were in workplaces with windows. Participants were asked about their physical and mental health as well as their sleep quality. Twenty one participants were monitored using actigraphy - a device that gives measures of ight exposure as well as activity and sleep.

The researchers found that workers who were working in windowless offices had low scores on quality of life indices.

 "Architects need to be aware of the importance of natural light not only in terms of their potential energy savings but also in terms of affecting occupants' health," said co-lead author Mohamed Boubekri, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.