Have you been getting enough quality sleep lately? If not, you have a gazillion and one reason to start figuring out why.
The amount and quality of sleep you get can have a huge impact on your health, productivity, and overall well-being. And, apparently, this can be determined by various factors, including your bedtime routine, diet, bedroom environment, and lifestyle habits, among others.
In this piece, I shall look at if and how your home’s lighting can affect your sleep patterns and well-being.
What Are Sleep Patterns?
Sleep patterns or sleeping patterns simply refer to a person’s bedtime and waking up schedules, alongside their napping behavior over an extended time period.
For instance, do you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day – which is a healthy sleep schedule? How many hours do you sleep at night? Do you take naps or feel sleepy during the day?
Yes, Lighting Can Affect a Person’s Sleeping Patterns
Indeed, your home’s lighting can have a profound impact on your sleeping patterns. This is because, for one, lighting affects mood, which can determine whether or not you fall asleep. Also, have you ever wondered why some people find it hard to fall asleep with the lights on?
Well, exposure to light during bedtime or minutes before can throw your circadian rhythm off-balance thus preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep.
It causes your brain to produce less melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone that’s normally triggered by darkness. As a result, you may end up staring at the ceiling for hours, or tossing and turning in bed.
And, assuming you manage to fall asleep with your bedroom lights on, you may not enjoy enough deep sleep in the rapid eye movement (REM) phase.
This is the kind of sleep that encourages vivid dreaming, emotional processing, memory, and brain development. As a matter of fact, some dark sleepers will instantly wake up if the bedroom lights are turned on.
In a nutshell, the kind of lighting in your home, and how you use it, can indeed affect your sleep cycle and sleep patterns. As in the case above, you may end up feeling sleepy at work the day after since you’ll probably not get enough sleep. Taking a 30-minute nap could help, but you may also want to rethink your bedroom lighting.
Choosing a Light That Works With Your Circadian Rhythm
Especially for those who prefer sleeping with the lights on, there’s some good news: not all light is bad for your sleep!
For instance, red light can be a great pick when choosing nightlight because it doesn’t interfere much with your circadian rhythm. Some people also find orange lights quite soothing when preparing to snooze.
Besides light colour, it’s also important to pick the right light bulbs for your bedroom, ensuring they have low lumens (brightness) so they don’t disrupt your circadian rhythm. Modern-day LEDs like the br30 led bulb excel at this front.
Designed with circadian technology, these bulbs emit specific wavelengths that can actually help support your sleep patterns. They also come with a range of helpful features, including automatic dimmers that can be set according to your sleep-wake cycle.
How Indoor Lighting Influences Your Overall Well Being
If your sleep health suffers, your overall well-being automatically suffers. But that’s not all. The lighting in your home can affect your wellness in a diverse range of ways.
For instance, artificial light that is too bright can cause eye fatigue, headaches, and other negative symptoms. Harsh light can also have a negative impact on mood and mental energy.
On the other hand, a growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to natural light can have a positive effect on one’s mood, energy, and overall health.
In one study, office workers who had access to natural light reported higher levels of satisfaction with their work environment and greater productivity. In another study, students who were exposed to natural light during class performed better on tests than those who were not.
And there you have it! Now you know how important the lighting in your home is as far as your sleep, health, and well-being are concerned.