Biophilic Lighting: A New Trend towards Greener Interiors
Nature is nurturing. We’ve all experienced this effect, whether in the form of a hike in the woods, the sound of wind in the trees, or warm sunlight hitting our skin. It’s part of how we’re hardwired as human beings: to be connected with the natural world around us, for our health and well-being.
Biophilic lighting is a new trend in indoor lighting which aims to recreate some of the health benefits of nature indoors, through lighting and even light fixtures. Read on to discover more about this trend and how to implement it in your home.
Key Principles of Biophilic Lighting
As humans, we are gifted with senses that help us engage with the world around us: sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound. In biophilic lighting, two of these senses come into play: seeing and touching.
Natural Light
It all starts with the way that our bodies respond to natural light. Unlike our ancestors, most of us spend most of our time indoors, where we are dependent on artificial light, which is dimmer than the light outside. This has an impact on the way our bodies produce melatonin, which is essential to our sleep-wake cycle. Light triggers our internal systems to reduce melatonin production, so we feel more alert; darkness ramps it up again, so we feel drowsy and ready for bed.
When you are creating a lighting plan for any room, consider how the space will be used. Is it a place that requires focus, where we need to be productive, such as a home office or kitchen? Or is it a place for winding down and relaxing, such as a living room or bedroom? This will help determine the amount of natural light you want to let into the room through large windows, pulled-back curtains, raised shades, and even skylights. Of course, each room may have different uses at different times of the day, which helps influence our natural circadian rhythms – the physical, mental, and behavioral changes that we experience over a 24-hour cycle. Light and dark have the biggest influence on these natural processes.
Artificial Light and Circadian Rhythms
Even if large, uncurtained windows are not available in every room, you can mimic circadian rhythms throughout the day through the smart use of light’s color. Color temperature in light bulbs is measured in kelvins: the higher the kelvins, the closer the artificial light is to daylight.
Implement warm white light with a yellowish tone in the morning (2,000–3,000 K) when you’re waking up, because it mimics the sunrise. During midday, light should be closest to natural daylight (4,500 K and above), which can help with energy and alertness. And as the evening turns to night, it’s good to go back to a warm white light or even one with a reddish hue, being sure to avoid the cool blue light that keeps us awake.
Nature-Inspired Materials and Patterns
Another key principle of biophilic lighting is incorporating the use of natural elements. This could be achieved through fixtures made with natural materials such as wood, rattan, bamboo, or even stone, or lampshades made of a natural fabric like linen, cotton, or rattan. The hand-feel of these textures can be just as important as their visual presentation.
At Visual Comfort, we offer chandeliers made with natural materials that serve as statement pieces for your living room or above your dining table. We also have floor lamps made from oak and bamboo, and table lamps where either the base or the shade are crafted of natural materials.
You can even find wall sconces with shades made of alabaster, a natural stone. Whether you opt for a lighting fixture made of organic materials or one with patterns and colors inspired by nature, it’s a great way to bring a touch of the outdoors indoors.
Health and Wellness Benefits of Biophilic Lighting
First of all, biophilic lighting works with our circadian rhythms to regulate our sleep-wake cycles. Keeping these rhythms more consistent throughout the course of the day helps to set healthy patterns for our body so we sleep better and wake more refreshed.
Research has linked exposure to natural light, or artificial light that mimics natural light, to greater productivity and focus during the day and stress reduction at night. This can boost our mood, reduce fatigue, and even lower seasonal depression.
Incorporating Artificial Light into Biophilic Lighting Design
When natural light is not sufficient for your needs, artificial light can work alongside natural light to achieve the desired effect. When incorporating the two together, be sure that your artificial light is carefully planned to match the quality and intensity of the natural lighting appropriate for the time of day or task at hand. It should also be consistent, diffusing evenly throughout the room without flickering or distortion, which can add to stress and reduce productivity or relaxation.
Dynamic lighting is another feature of biophilic lighting. With today’s advances in biophilic lighting, some bulbs can be changed in brightness or even in color temperature at the push or a switch or tap of a mobile phone, meaning that a single fixture can perform all of these functions. This creates an ever-changing environment that responds to our bodies’ needs, stimulating our senses and giving us an increased sense of engagement with the room, and the world, around us.
Biophilic Lighting Considerations for Different Spaces
Kitchens
In kitchens, you want the light to be inviting and welcoming, yet bright enough to see the task at hand. This can mean using an overhead ceiling light with a warm white glow to set the mood, then incorporating pendant lighting above an island and even under-cabinet lighting to illuminate your counter or cooktop. With each of these, apply biophilic principles by turning on the lights with cool temperatures to help you keep your focus while chopping and prepping meals, then dimming them when it’s time to sit down and enjoy your dinner.
Living Rooms
Living rooms are one of the great multi-purpose rooms in the house. In the afternoon or evening, we want them to be lively and approachable, welcoming family or friends who are gathering together. This calls for light temperatures that are not too cool or bright, helping to set the tone for relaxation. As the darkness outside increases, dimmers and color-changing bulbs are a welcome addition, allowing you to tone down the brightness indoors. Living rooms are also a fantastic place to install fixtures or lamps that feature organic materials and patterns.
Home Offices
Daylight temperature bulbs, with a ranking of 4,000 kelvins or more, are helpful in home offices because they keep us alert and improve concentration, particularly when used in overhead lighting or desk lamps. Ideally, these light fixtures have dimming capabilities or bulbs with a range of temperatures that can be changed at the click of a button. This flexibility is perfect for those nights that you need to work late but don’t want the light quality to interfere with sleep when it’s time for bed.
Bedrooms
Bedrooms are made for sleeping, but they’re also the place where we wake up. To ease your transition into the day, employ warm white light at around 2,700–3,000 kelvins. In the evening, use dimmers on everything from overhead fixtures to bedside lamps to help your brain and body prepare for sleep.
Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Lighting Practices in Biophilic Design
Today’s lighting technologies have made it much easier and more cost-effective to incorporate biophilic lighting. LED lights are known for being highly energy efficient, as much as 90% more so than incandescent bulbs, and they can also last for up to a decade. Many LED bulbs also come with the ability to dynamically control color temperature and brightness, making them perfectly suited for biophilic applications.
As mentioned above, many fixtures today can be controlled by adjustable switches or even an app integrated on your mobile device. These can give you flexible control over the color and brightness of lighting in any room, enabling you to program them with presets to mirror the circadian rhythms of the day, or fine-tune light temperature on command.
Getting Started with Biophic Lighting
At Visual Comfort, we’re excited about this new trend and are persuaded that it will be a long-lasting one, as it appeals to our very human nature. Visit visualcomfort.com to browse lighting options that can help you incorporate biophilic lighting practices into your home.