Important discoveries like environmental effects on gene expression (epigenetics) and our gut flora (microbiome) have migrated quickly from research to medicine to the public lexicon for good reason.
Managing stress and diet have come to the forefront of people’s biggest concerns. The health and wellness impact of adequate exposure to sun and sky light is now in the public, and business, eye.
The critical importance of these factors is leading people and businesses to radically rethink their living and working environments. A recent US General Population Survey conducted by Calm found that mental health challenges are prevalent in the workplace.
Workplace productivity has long been a key target for business optimization programs
But over the last decade, and augmented by pandemic isolation, employee mental health is top of mind with both workers and management.
A rapidly growing amount of neuroscience and clinical research has demonstrated that biologically relevant colors and timings of natural light are not represented in standard indoor lighting, a problem exasperated by modern LED sources. Given the staggering realization that 93% of our time is spent indoors, and windows only help if you are close and staring out the frame, this is indeed a serious threat to our circadian biology and health. Ever alert to ways of protecting their employee investment and improving productivity and bottom line, more and more companies are retrofitting or augmenting their interior lighting to include biologically important color spectra. But can it be done at scale?
A Fortune 500 company steps into the (human) light
Recent technological advances in reproducing the sun and sky spectra led to the development of SkyView™ naturalistic circadian lighting that delivers the right wavelengths of light at the right intensity at the right times of the daily cycle to strengthen our internal neuro hormonal biology and boost our human health and wellness. A recent interventional study testing this “human light” conducted by Harvard Medical School Affiliates (Peer reviewed publication in Journal of SLEEP: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37026184/ ) showed amazing increases in productivity (12.5%), wakefulness (81%), reaction time (300%), mental sharpness (190%), motivation (78%), and feel refreshed (+3hrs). A subsequent field study at a fortune 500 company was conducted to see the impact in a “real world” business environment. The study was conducted over a month in the summer across multiple company sites in the US. There was no screening of participants, nor were there restrictions on how much natural light they might be exposed to in their locations.
Study Design
The 4-week study consisted of providing SkyView™ desk lamps to participants and measuring performance aspects with periodic questionanaires:
Q1 – Baseline
Q2 – 1 week with SkyView™
Q3 – 2 days without SkyView™
Q4 – SkyView™ restored
Q5 – Recap Questions
Questionnaires asked participants at the end of the day to assess their:
- Mood
- Alertness
- Focus
- Productivity
- Sense of accomplishment
The results of the Fortune 500 company study were remarkable. The improved lighting correlated with increased productivity and mood measures but showed that the removal of the SkyView™ lamps at week 3 showed a drastic decrease in wellness and productivity levels. Subsequent returns of the lamps in weeks 4 and 5 showed a dramatic increase in response higher than the initial responses of the first week.
Overall, in just 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks), productivity measures from “feeling accomplished” to “focus” increased significantly.
100% of the participants reported that they would recommend continued use of the lamps and use by others.
It’s important to note that the study took place in summer with considerable sunlight available. Effects during the short days of winter might be even more significant.
One participant commented:
“I live in Arizona, so I assumed I was getting enough direct sunlight. But have learned my home office has low natural light. I feel the difference this light makes.”
Another worker, echoing the bane of interior office workers everywhere:
“Really enjoyed using this device. It even seemed to help clear up some headaches I experienced during the duration of this pilot. It also greatly improved my mood and really helped me feel like I was getting some “sunshine” since I sit in a room with no windows.”
Exposure to human lighting has significant effects not only on work productivity, but as a whole wellness support. Many users report exceptional focus during the day, but also heightened relaxation and deeper sleep at night.
“It did wonders for me after work when I got home as I often tend to be at my desk after hours I used it as a desk lamp and it helped transition me into some of the best sleep I’ve had in a long while in that I could easily just knock out. Going to be sad to see it go.”
SkyView™ acts on brain and body on a deep and fundamental way by affecting the nonvisual light receptors in the eye that control our body’s rhythms. The effects can be extended further by providing similar lighting at home. SkyView™ lighting has options that can be implemented in large office spaces as well as at home.
“SkyView™ made a noticeable difference for me, love the design also and will be procuring a couple of these for my home office.”
Businesses discover that SkyView™ just makes (dollars and) sense.
It is important to note that SkyView™ is not a therapy lamp or just a color changing “mood lamp”. It is true, scientifically tuned spectral lighting that modulates energy, focus, mood, and ultimately productivity to improve human health and well-being. Given that mental and physical health are closely related with depressed individuals, 2x-4x more likely to increase medical spend compared to controls. Every $1 invested in yearly prevention and intervention programs to support mental health, employers can save $2 to $4 on other expenses.
Ultimately, healthier, more productive employees will boost bottom line performance. And in these post pandemic days, what better way to welcome back employees than into a wellness haven.
