When the nights start to draw in, your office or classroom might start looking darker every day. So how can you increase the natural light in your workspace to help avoid the effects of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) on your staff and students and boost productivity?
Here are five tips to light up your space this winter:
Natural light is best
We all know a good dose of vitamin D from natural sunlight can do the world of good for our mood, so try to incorporate as much natural light as you can during the daylight hours. Research has found that workers exposed to natural light are up to 18% more productive, whilst those who have outside views are up to 25% more productive.
If you are thinking of an office fit-out or office refurbishment, consider external works to add curtain walling to your building. This can allow huge amounts of natural light in and, come rain or shine, it offers a wide view for all to be able to see out into the world lifting staff spirits.
LEDs – Winter’s new daylight
For those darker, cloudier days, or for when the sun sets, LED lighting is the best alternative to natural daylight. Other than using up to 90% less energy, it reduces harsh lighting and appears as bright white light, just like daylight.
Glass partitions – Let the light in
When thinking about an office or classroom refurbishment, consider getting rid of internal walls and replacing them with glass partitions to allow more natural light to reach further into your building. It creates the feeling of a much larger workspace, helping users not to feel enclosed.
Lighting for the senses
TUI introduced sensory lighting on its airbus flights to help passengers adjust to the new time zone and offices could benefit from this technology too. As part of your office fit-out or office refurbishment, introduce sensors for your LED lights, it can adjust automatically based on the level of natural light entering the office so it stays at a constant level all day long.
Energetic lighting
If you want to provide a bit more energy in the office, consider introducing some blue light during the day. It has been proven to make us more alert when exposed to short wavelength, high-energy blue light. This could be introduced with the use of a suspended ceiling within the office or meeting room to help boost staff creativity during those mundane meetings.
Contact APSS today to see how they can help or advise you to brighten your workplace environment up and provide a natural boost of energy.
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