Here’s how to choose the best lighting for your well-being, according to growing research
“Lighting does have a significant effect on people’s psychological state as well as how they think and behave,” says Sally Augustin, an environmental and design psychologist in Chicago. “Given the kinds of animals we are, we do need light. It’s what keeps our minds and bodies in the best possible shape.”
Exposure to natural light and certain types of artificial light helps your body maintain its circadian rhythm — the internal clock that regulates key functions such as sleep-wake patterns, hormone release, blood pressure and body temperature fluctuations. A 2021 study from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, for instance, found that access to daylight inside the home helped participants fall asleep faster at night and gave them a greater sense of vitality throughout the day. A 2022 study from the journal Building and Environment concluded that incorporating natural light in nearly every room — the kitchen, bedroom, living room and dining room — improved emotional well-being.
The takeaway: The qualities and sources of the lighting inside our homes matter greatly, impacting myriad aspects of our state of mind, such as how irritable or productive we feel. Here are strategies to consider when devising a lighting plan for your own space.
Capitalize on (or fake) natural light
“Natural light is like a magic medicine — it improves mood, mental performance, and the ability to get along with people,” says Augustin. But “you need to be careful about glare,” she adds, which makes your eyes work harder and can lead to strain and fatigue. (To minimize it, try sheer curtains or positioning yourself perpendicular to the window, she suggests.)
If your home doesn’t get much natural light, you can still achieve an ideal level of daytime brightness with full-spectrum lightbulbs, says Kati Peditto, a psychologist in Denver and director of the Human Experience Lab at architecture firm Perkins and Will. These bulbs replicate natural sunlight, and can be found at hardware stores, grocery stores and online. “Full spectrum lighting includes visible and invisible forms of light [such as infrared and ultraviolet], and it has a daylight-mimicking effect that lowers stress and boosts alertness,” she says. (Full-spectrum light is associated with lower levels of stress hormones such as cortisol in the human body.)
In artificially lit spaces, experts also recommend using different “temperatures” of light at different times. During the day, Augustin advises using cool light — which ranges from blue to white in tone — because it’s energizing, and promotes concentration and focused work. On the other hand, spending time in warm light — which ranges in tone from yellow to orange — fosters relaxation and creative thinking, often making it well suited for later in the afternoon or evening.
In general, Augustin recommends using cool lights high in the room (such as in overhead lighting) and warm lights lower (in table or floor lamps), for optimal functionality and mood. When you’re lightbulb shopping, look for labels indicating coolness (such as “white,” “cool white” or “daylight”) or warmth (“soft white,” or “warm white”).
To imitate the setting sun, put lights on dimmers, so you can gradually turn them down. Sitting beneath bright lights at night can suppress the release of melatonin, making it tough to fall asleep, as can exposure to blue light and white light with blue hues — common culprits include electronics such as computers, cellphones and TVs, and LED and fluorescent bulbs.
Use different types of light in different rooms
“You can create zones in your home with light, using pools of light for different activities,” says Augustin, whose firm Design With Science uses principles from neuroscience to create spaces that foster positive mental states. Try task-based bright lighting in your kitchen — with under-cabinet lights, for example — to enhance safety while avoiding eyestrain, or a golden-hued bulb in an office desk lamp to spur creativity.
In the bathroom, “color quality matters because we judge how we look by looking in the mirror,” says Jennifer Veitch, an environmental psychologist in Ottawa and principal research officer at the National Research Council of Canada. The light needs to be bright enough (at least 60 watts, depending on the size of your bathroom and what the fixture can handle) so you can clearly see yourself but warm enough in tone so your skin doesn’t take on an odd hue.
If you keep a plug-in night-light in the bathroom for middle-of-the-night trips, Veitch advises keeping it dim and warm (in the amber to red zone), so it’s less likely to compromise your ability to fall back asleep. The same goes for the hallway.
For the living room, Peditto recommends warm, ambient lighting because it facilitates relaxation and social interaction. The same is true of bedrooms; plus, warm, ambient lighting won’t interfere with your ability to fall asleep, Veitch says.
While these lighting guidelines apply to most people, individual responses can vary, so you may have to experiment to see what works for you. “Choosing lighting is so much more complicated than it used to be,” Veitch says, “because there are now so many options.”
Stacey Colino is a writer, specializing in health and psychology. On Twitter, she’s @ColinoStacey.
