Secrets to Increasing Your Productivity: Lighting
The general environment in which we work has fundamental impacts on productivity levels. Distractions such as noise, games, or internet social sites and activities are not the only hindrances to good performances. Many factors contribute to how fast, efficiently, and accurately that you can work.
One of the environmental factors that determine productivity is the lighting. Even though many may not think of it as an issue, it is apparent in corporate office building designs that are open to intense light. Various studies indicate that there is a deep relationship between illumination and individual productivity levels.
Here are a few secrets on increasing your productivity levels using proper lighting.
Table of Contents
Natural light regulates the circadian rhythm
Exposure to natural light, whether in the office or at home, helps improve your physical, mental, and emotional stability/productivity. Sunlight exposure helps regulate the circadian rhythm by ensuring an individual gets enough sleep. Adequate sleep is essential for workers as it not only offers the body a chance to rest and regenerate; it also improves physical capabilities.
Natural sunlight promotes the production of vitamin D in the body through the skin. Not only does it aid in keeping you healthy through cholesterol synthesis, but it also increases energy production in the body. Also, vitamin D helps strengthen your muscles, boost mental activity geared towards better work outputs eliminating chances of depression and anxiety.
Therefore, to improve on your office lighting, ensure that there is more sunlight penetrating the office through the windows. If unable to do so, such as to incorporate building with several floors up, you can fix day-lighting devices such as a transparent patch on the roof, allowing in natural light. If at home, try comfortable and smart bedside reading lamps that will not affect the amount of sleep you get and will help retain your health status at par.
Get rid of faulty lights
One thing that will have your productivity levels going down is a defective light. Faulty light includes flickering lights that have your head spinning while trying to read an important document. Also, too bright light that makes you blind when you enter a room or has your migraines acting up by the end of the day, after a long workday. The light buzz that makes it noisy in the room while trying to concentrate on a contract review.
All these are conditions that profoundly impact your productivity levels. Replacing buzzing light bulbs, flickering lights, and providing better lighting to suit each individual’s needs is essential to enhancing personal productivity. It creates a comfortable working environment for you and others in your organization.
Cool temperature light bulbs
Studies indicate the cool temperature lighting helps boost productivity levels. The temperature, in this case, does not refer to how hot or cold a bulb heats, but to what quality the light bulb color has. Its measurements are in kelvins. For instance, a campfire has minimal blue light with 2000K. However, a cool lamp for your office considerations is between 4000K and 7000K.
Each individual has their lighting needs, i.e. individual reading and reviewing contracts have different light needs from another spending the day watching different computer screens. The two employees lighting degrees will differ, and providing lighting that they can customize to fit their needs is fundamental to their success.
Cool light bulbs producing blue light increase alertness by preventing melatonin production. Melatonin is what induces sleep once the sun goes down. You may fit your working area with such blue light bulbs to enhance your alertness, focus, and concentration.
Employ the use of smart lighting
Since individual perception heavily depends on different lighting comparisons, it may be difficult to control the amount of light exposure. You may perceive your office or home lighting as too bright due to the decor you are experiencing concerning the outside environment. In most cases, the light in your office corridor and that of your office are similar.
To eliminate confusion and such brain activities that may induce stress and anxiety, employ the use of smart lighting innovations or technology. Such technology allows your lighting fixtures to dim when the sunlight is too bright, providing a convenient working environment. Also, some lights come with glare diffusers that help eliminates unwanted brightness, making emitted light more natural.
Besides, with smart lighting, an individual can manipulate the light to fit their working needs. Such freedom creates dependability and increases productivity by a considerable margin. Furthermore, it produces much more content employees, which reduce stress levels while at the same time increasing collaboration, creativity, and confidence in an individual’s work.
Experiment with different lighting
Similar to purchasing the right chair for your workspace, choosing the proper lighting provides a better working environment. Different lighting induces a different mood, and working on a computer is different from working under natural light and reading a book. Therefore, these situations may require different lighting.
However, individually, you can find a lighting fixture that suits your needs regardless of what you are working on. Besides, consider the impacts of the lighting on your surroundings, costs you will incur, and above all, personal health. Consider combining an indirect source of light such as the sunlight and adding a desk light, i.e. task lighting for simple tasks such as going through your contract papers.
Conclusion
Improving your productivity levels depends on your energy levels each day. However, with poor lighting, you may get headaches and migraines, feel sleepy and fatigued, feel the strain on your eyes, and become drowsy at your workplace. Proper lighting eliminates such occurrences resulting in better work performances and high productivity levels. Try the above lighting secrets to improve your productivity.
References
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-deficiency-symptoms
https://www.cleverism.com/how-lighting-affects-productivity-and-mood/
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/improving-productivity-by-improving-lighting.html
https://onlinemba.unc.edu/blog/how-lighting-affects-productivity/
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