VITAMIN D

Daylight is our fundamental source of vitamin D. Vitamin D is the key ingredient in strong bone development – our body needs it to absorb calcium and it helps us to develop in infancy and as we grow. A lack of vitamin D has also been linked to depression, obesity, and possibly even multiple sclerosis, with a gene defect resulting in vitamin D deficiency being linked to the condition.

When it comes to the question of how best to obtain this crucial resource, natural light is the answer. While supplements can give us a boost of vitamin D, and foods (like milk) can top us up, they can actually lead to us ingesting too much – causing completely new issues by raising our blood calcium levels.

Sunlight doesn’t give us vitamin D directly, but it helps our body to produce its own. Natural light allows our body to strengthen itself, and it can’t oversupply us; if our body has enough vitamin D, it just stops making more. This means you literally can’t have too much of a good thing when it comes to this particular benefit of natural light.

PRODUCTIVITY AND FOCUS

One of the great benefits of natural light is that it actually makes us more productive. There are strong links between the benefits of natural light exposure and our overall productivity. Particularly in the workplace, natural light has been linked to improved focus, efficiency, and less illness with reduced absenteeism. Research indicates that the benefits of daylight exposure included everything from improved morale to an increased ability to remember numbers backwards.

One of the biggest factors also directly related to our productivity is our sleep quality – and there’s plenty of evidence to show that if we sleep better, we work better.

PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING

The benefits of natural light on the way we feel don’t just apply to our physical wellbeing, but also to our psychological health and mood. A lack of daylight can make us feel down, depressed and anxious, and daylight has hude benefits when it comes to our mental wellbeing.

Getting enough natural light can actively combat negative psychological wellbeing. Studies have found that improved access to natural light can reduce levels of agitation and stress. The case is clear for the fact that getting more sunlight simply makes us feel better.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

In the average building, particularly commercial properties, lighting makes up a significant amount of the total energy expenditure/usage, and can contribute to around a third of your total energy bill. Electricity isn’t cheap, and constantly lighting an interior space can rack up a large bill in a surprisingly short space of time – particularly if your lighting option of choice isn’t energy-efficient.

While the cost of installing skylights, roof windows, sliding glass doors or other glazing solutions might be initially higher than the average monthly power bill, once they’re installed, they don’t cost anything to run (unless you opt for a motorised or electrically powered option), and they light your interior spaces up even more effectively than artificial lighting.

It’s not just lighting that can be optimised by using daylight in your interior spaces, but heating too. It might not seem obvious at first, but by choosing the right thermal glazing products, ‘solar gain’ (the heating effects of sunlight on an interior space) can be regulated and controlled. Essentially, with intelligent design you can not only light up, but also heat your home using natural sunlight, while adequate insulation can ensure this interior climate is maintained.

Opting to use natural light as your primary source in your home or commercial property will not only shave precious pennies off your electricity bills, but will also enable you to reap all of the other benefits natural light has on your health.

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