Light and Life: How Your Room’s Lighting Impacts Your Emotions

Let’s face it. We are all spending a lot more time at home these days. And though our work establishments are generally fastidious about providing ample and appropriate lighting for their work force on the job, at home, we can tend to be more lackadaisical. What we fail to realize is that the quality and intensity of the lighting in our homes powerfully impacts our emotions and those of our children as well. Let us take you through our checklist of lighting considerations.

Dimly lit living room — Credit: Leigh Savage

Your first task is to ensure that you are providing enough light in your home. No, that single ceiling fixture in the living room is not adequate! Does each room have sufficient balanced lighting throughout? This is foundational. You may be working at home these days and your children may be schooling from home as well. Take this opportunity to ensure that each family member’s workspace is well lit to prevent eye strain. That means task lighting focused on the workspace at hand. Examples of task lighting include floor lamps, table lamps, desk lamps, under counter lights, and pendant lights.

But having enough light is not the only consideration. The type of light you are providing can mean all the difference between a plethora of health problems and wellness. Choosing fluorescent lighting could potentially result in migraine, eyestrain, sleep problems, weak immune systems, hormonal disruption, and more. No need to make that choice when LED lighting is readily available and is far superior for family health. According to Relumination, “The color components of LED light are nearly identical to sunshine and have been shown to increase alertness and energy similar to natural sunlight.” Who couldn’t use a little increase in alertness and energy?

Well lit living room — Credit: Leigh Meyer Perez

A third consideration in your lighting plan is the color and intensity of the lighting you choose. Much of this choice is in the bulb you select; however, it can also be helpful to choose lamps with three-way switches or to utilize dimmer switch technology. Providing bright light can tend to make your family feel more energetic and alert, however, it can also make them perceive their emotions, both positive and negative, more intensely. Dimmed lighting has been shown to produce the best environment for rational decision-making, as well as preparing for sleep, and for eating. The recommended LED bulb light color for the home, both for ambient and task lighting, is 2700K -3000K (measured in units of Kelvin). Office lighting is generally 3000K – 3500K.

smart LED light bulb — Credit: TheVerge.com

Finally, don’t neglect beauty! With the abundance of design choices in lighting, consider the joy factor. Our minds and hearts are created to exult in beauty, to delight in tracing out the details of texture and shades of light and dark. Explore the possibilities of lighting types: floor lamps, table lamps, desk lamps, wall sconces, chandeliers. And styles: antique, vintage, French, steampunk, shabby chic, farmhouse, contemporary, transitional. Seek out the extraordinary, the unique, something sculptural that is PERFECT for your home and let it delight your heart with both light and style.