It’s amazing how a bright, sun-filled room can make you feel more awake and energised, and how a dark, gloomy space can make you feel tired and sluggish – or even depressed. And the really interesting thing about all this is that it’s not just you thinking this way; it’s all happening because light plays such a massive role in mental health.
From boosting your mood to improving sleep, the type (and amount) of light you can get in your home can make a huge difference in how you feel every day, so if your space feels a bit dim, it might be time to let in more light. Read on to find out how light can affect your mental health.
Natural Light Is A Mood Booster
Sunlight doesn’t just make a room look good – it makes you feel good as well. The fact is that exposure to natural light increases serotonin, and that’s the hormone that boosts your mood and helps to keep your stress levels under control (it’s why sitting by a sunny window feels instantly calming and why winter months, with their shorter, darker days, can sometimes lead to seasonal blues.
If your home doesn’t get much natural light, you might need to think about opening up your space by pulling back the curtains, removing anything that’s blocking the windows, or even choosing the best replacement windows to make things better and ensure more light is getting inside your home.
Poor Lighting Can Affect Your Sleep
If you’re struggling to fall asleep or you always seem to wake up tired no matter how many hours you get, it could be your home’s lighting that’s to blame. Bright artificial lights, especially blue light that comes from screens and overhead bulbs, mess with your body’s internal clock, and that means sleep can be much harder to come by.
In the evenings, dimming the lights and swapping bright white bulbs for warm-toned ones can signal to your brain that it’s time to unwind, so it’s a great idea, especially now that technology means we can make all that happen from an app and we’ve got so much more control over the lighting in our homes.
Dark Spaces Can Drain Energy
A dimly lit room doesn’t just look dark, it can actually make you feel drained, which is never ideal! Studies have shown that poor lighting can make you feel a lot more tired, and it can also trigger headaches and eye strain, and that’s not just going to make you feel bad, it’s going to make you a lot less productive in anything you need to do as well.
So if you home feels dark, adding more light sources like floor lamps, mirrors that reflect light, and brighter bulbs (although be aware of the fact they can be a problem for your sleep, of course) can make a really positive difference in how energetic and alert you feel through the day. And of course, you can buy daylight bulbs as well if that’s going to help you – they mimic the look of sunlight in your home, so they’re great for using on the darkest days.
Featured Photo by Burak The Weekender
