The Psychological and Physiological effect of lighting on Human - Literature Review

Throughout the time, starting from the evolution of the universe after the big bang till today, lighting is considered as one of the most important elements for every living thing starting from every molecule to human beings. The importance of lighting for humans is highlighted in different books, studies and research papers issued by different authors and professionals in the field.

In the electronic publication titled ‘A History of Light and Lighting’, Bill Williams (1999) issued an in depth historic antithetical information regarding Lighting and light. A detailed history is defined in this publication with individual sections which highlights the importance of lighting in every life which starts from detailed information about ‘the sun’ (p.01) which highlights the very first type of light. Williams in later stages of the publication starts to highlight the important of lighting for living with reference to ‘Early Life’ and ‘Photosynthesis’ (p.02) which strengthen the importance of lighting for different spices.

In the research paper ‘Lighting and Psychology’ published by Dr Sergio Altomonte (2005/06), the psychological and physiological effect of lighting is analysed in depth by research and analyses of a case study in Australia. In the introduction of this research paper, Dr Altomonte started by analyzing the importance of lighting for human physiology by referring to the biological clock which evolved during planet earth existence. Dr Altomonte highlights important issues which are effecting human beings both physiologically and psychologically as he states that “ We are increasingly  deviating from the organic and functional recurrence dictated by natural color, angle and intensity of daylight and replacing it with an artificial timetable which is imposed by work schedules, the calendar and the clock”  (Altomonte, 2005/06: 02) which contrast with the evolution of human beings which relied on a “24-Hour  light- dark cycle” (Altomonte, 2005/06: 02).

Lighting can create a Psychological effect on human beings depending on our perception of the space and atmosphere that we’re in. In an online research paper titled “ Lighting : Its Effect on People and Space” by Delores (Dee) Ginthner (2002), Emphases were made in the introduction regarding different application of lighting creating different perception of space. Although lighting is seen as a singular element in interior design, different lighting strategies will manipulate the interior and with a creation of different perception of space, the ambiance and mood will be manipulated with a direct effect on the physiology and psychology of the user.

The surrounding space alone is one kind of language which will create direct effect on the user. In “The Language of Space” By Bryan Lawson (2001), surrounding space is described in depth from different perspective depicting several situations how space is perceived in different ways. By describing the theories regarding space with different examples which all human beings go trough in everyday life, Lawson manages to highlight several situations describing different manipulated surrounding spaces which directly effect the user. In the initial stages of the book, Lawson describes different scenarios that with specific manipulation of space, human beings can automatically be driven into a road to different emotions which will manipulate and dictate their behavior.

Throughout the second chapter of the book, Lawson (2001) highlighted several important characteristics regarding space which has direct connection with the psychological side human beings. Stimulation, Motivation, Behavior and security were subjects among other which highlights the direct effect of the surrounding space on human psychology.

These different psychological effect on the human brain can be directly manipulated by different lighting strategies. In “Interior Lighting for Designer” by Gary Gordon (2003), Gordon describes different lighting strategies which manipulate human perception of space, behavior and emotions. Gordon States that  Subjective impression of space are function  of brightness contrast: the relationship of surface that are lighted( the focus or foreground) to those that are left in comparative darkness (the surround or background)” (Gordon, 2003: 11)

Throughout the book, Gordon (2003) evaluate different lighting strategies and several cases compares different lighting setups in the same space and examine the different impact that every setup has on human psychology. Along the in depth analyses, Gordon examined and studies the work of the late professor John Flynn. Different examples from the cross examinations of lighting setup by Gordon, specific physiological effects emerged depicting different scenarios that represents the different needs f a human in different areas of his quarters.

Examining and understanding the literature mentioned, clearly identify the importance of lighting and the direct involvement in psychological manipulation and well being of human kind. Several studies and observations can strengthen the important amalgamation of interior and lighting design to create the perfect harmony and environment for the user which will directly result in help for a better living. Designers has to always keep in mind the true purpose of design which go far from just aesthetics as one of the strongest meaning of design is problem solving a meaning which highlights the importance of lighting design for psychological health and well being of human kind.

Reference List

Williams, B, 1999. History. A History of Light and Lighting, [Online]. 2.2, 88. Available at: http://www.mts.net/ [Accessed 06 April 2015]

Altomonte, S, 2005. Lighting and Physiology. Artificial and Natural Light Related to the Human Body, [Online]. 1, 19. Available at: http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ [Accessed 08 April 2015]

Ginthner, D, 2002. Implication. Lighting: Its Effect on People and Spaces, [Online]. 1, 5. Available at: http://www.informedesign.org/ [Accessed 06 April 2015]

Lawson, B, 2001. The Language of Space. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Architectural Press

Gordon, G, 2003. Interior Lighting for Designers. 4th ed. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Lighting in different residential spaces and its psychological and physiological effect with the creation of specific ambiance for user.

One of the most important things for humans is their own home. Home was one of the most important thing in human life from the early start when the firs human species started to find caves and transform it into their own living territory. The surrounding space is one of the most important thing for us human and it directly effect of way of living both physiologically and psychologically.

Our surrounding space is can be perceived differently especially because of different lighting setup which has direct impact on human physiology and psychology. In residential buildings, lighting can be used to create different moods and ambiance which is specifically designed for the function of the space and the needs of the user. When we take a kitchen as an example, the main function of a kitchen is to cook, which is a kind of working environment which required specific intensity of lighting in certain areas. The main light source is focused on the central area of the kitchen which lighting up the working area which creates greater visibility and more comfort to work. On the other hand, several kitchens are designed with down lights incorporated with the kitchen itself which creates a more prominent focal area on important elements in the kitchen such as the appliances.

This example can clearly illustrates the power of lighting design and its effect on our perception of space which eventually will effect human both psychologically and physiologically. As it is clearly shown by this example, every room has to have the specific setup and every area has to be considered separately because of its own specific need but still there has to be connection with the rest pf the space. As Many states, the definition of a house is different from that of a home. Lighting designers and designers in general has to work very hard to satisfy all the needs of the user and develop a perfect home for the user not just a house. 

Reference List

Altomonte, S, 2005. Lighting and Physiology. Artificial and Natural Light Related to the Human Body, [Online]. 1, 19. Available at: http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ [Accessed 08 April 2015]

Ginthner, D, 2002. Implication. Lighting: Its Effect on People and Spaces, [Online]. 1, 5. Available at: http://www.informedesign.org/ [Accessed 06 April 2015]

Lawson, B, 2001. The Language of Space. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Architectural Press

Gordon, G, 2003. Interior Lighting for Designers. 4th ed. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Effect of space perception on humans

Humans perceive their surrounding space differently and all the surrounding space can be perceived differently depending on different factors which dictate how several elements of the space seen by humans.

Lighting, both natural and artificial, are two of the key factors of the different perception of space. In the book ‘Interior lighting for Designer’ by Gary Gordon (2003), different examples can be found which clearly illustrated how different lighting setups directly affect how human perceive space. In this book, Gordon analyses different experiments and theories by the late professor John Flynn which clearly shows this difference that lighting makes in space perception. In this book, Gordon outlined different situations from different kind of space, from residential to corporate and commercial but in several occasions the same principals where used regarding lighting strategies but with specific characteristics which makes the setup more suitable for the specific situation

.

In the second chapter of the book, Gordon (2003) tackled the psychological effects of lighting design on human by underlining different effects of lighting.in this chapter Gordon tacked psychological elements such as the emotional impact of lighting, degrees of stimulation of lighting, the importance of brightness balance and how important is contrast produced by lighting for humans psychology. While outlining all these psychological effect, Gordon was always looking at the different situations simultaneously to outline the importance in the different situation and highlighting the elements which improves the surrounding space for the user and those elements which creates a negative psychological impact on the user such as low contrast in the surrounding space.

By combining this evidence from chapter 2 and the information and the information about lighting design in chapter 13, it was evident the importance compiling the evidence together and identify the importance to understand lighting psychology to improve the design. 

Reference List

Gordon, G, 2003. Interior Lighting for Designers. 4th ed. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comparism between the early psychological effect of lighting with todays

From the early stages of human kind, lighting was on of the most important elements in human life which helped the first human spices to further develop throughout their existing. From the early years of homo sapience, lighting had several psychological effect on humans and today, we can note that there are several characteristics which are identical with those from millions of years ago.

As noted by Bill Williams in his online publication about the history of light and lighting, early signs of psychological effect of lighting started to develop as early as the first discovery of fire which occur ed 400,000 years BC. When observing the statements written about the early signs of psychological effect of lighting on human, we can relate several characteristics which are identical with our reaction to lighting and its psychological effect on us. 

As part of the developing nature, throughout the years lighting became an essential part of human nature. The recent lifestyle development of human being effected directly the physiology of man kind because of us humans concentrating more on work and our fast lifestyle which started to detach mankind from its nature. As state in ‘Lighting and Physiology’, an online research paper published by Dr Sergio Altomonte, human race is now diverting from its bond with nature which eventually improve human life and this calls for immediate measures to improve this situation. One of the solution for this problem is more appropriate design to help accommodate and balance the needs of human beings.

When we look at psychological and physiological effect of lighting and evaluate the historical information that is available, we can see that several effects are identical. With our technological improvement, Designer are trying to improve the well being of humans which is effecting everything around us.

When human beings discovered fire, which is considered as on of the first source of artificial lighting, they started to feel more secure during the night as fire extended their visibility of the surroundings. This is one of the psychological effects of lighting that can be compared with today's and it can be clearly stated that although millions of years has passed and human race had several technological achievements, lighting is still on of the most fundamental elements of human life.

It is clearly evident that other psychological and physiological effects of early lighting, in this case fire, is identical with that produces by lighting with the latest technology such as LED’s. Another psychological effect on human which is the same as that created in early life is the mood created by lighting. One of the basic effect which is related to color temperature is the warmth feeling created by lighting. When a recent light source such as LED is emitting a warm white light, The same effect is created as that created by a tungsten bulb or fire. Although the light source is from a different era, we can observe and identical effect on human mind.

Reference List

Williams, B, 1999. History. A History of Light and Lighting, [Online]. 2.2, 88. Available at: http://www.mts.net/ [Accessed 06 April 2015]

Altomonte, S, 2005. Lighting and Physiology. Artificial and Natural Light Related to the Human Body, [Online]. 1, 19. Available at: http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ [Accessed 08 April 2015]

Ginthner, D, 2002. Implication. Lighting: Its Effect on People and Spaces, [Online]. 1, 5. Available at: http://www.informedesign.org/ [Accessed 06 April 2015]

Lawson, B, 2001. The Language of Space. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Architectural Press

Gordon, G, 2003. Interior Lighting for Designers. 4th ed. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

History – The initial stages of lighting for human beings.

As noted in earlier posts, the importance of light right from the early start of planet earth is highly noted in different researches, studies and history book.

In the early stages of the development of the human race, human beings encountered several difficulties. One of the most important discoveries for human kind was fire and as stated in the online publication “History of Light and Lighting “ by Bill Williams (1993), it could have been discovered by accident by other elements such as a simple lightning strike.

As the sun was one of the first elements of planet earth and the universe and the main source of natural lighting which was helping in the creation of life, fire was the ‘artificial lighting’ created by human being. Fire was not only used as lighting but also it was used for other daily needs such as heating and cooking.

During my research I stated to analyze different findings and tried to observe, analyses and compare several characteristics that are directly linked to the psychological and physiological effect of lighting on human being. When related different studies which read the history of lighting and observing other research papers such as the online publication by Williams (1999). In his publication in the initial stages of this historical research paper, information is giving about how fire was also a sense of security for the early human race as it was a source of illumination  to the surrounding area which made them more aware about incoming predators. This example is a clear example of the direct psychological effect of lighting on human beings.

History – beginning of lighting and the importance of developing within lighting as a source of life

From the early start, as far as 4.5 Billion years B.C in the start of the universe, lighting was one of the first vital elements which created life after the big bang.

In an online publication by titled ‘A History of Light and Lighting’ by Bill Williams (1999), a detailed historical reference was written by the author covering from the early years of the development of natural light up to the recent technological discoveries in artificial lighting.

Although we consider as the sun as a place where no life is possible to be maintained, we leave aside the important of its characteristics which are one of the most vital element in human life and for other living thing. More than 4.5 million years ago the first result from the sun started to emerge here on earth as the initial type of life started to evolve. In his online publication, Williams (1999) described the initial stages of light which were initiated by the early development of earth. With the combination of developed water and vital natural lighting, the very first living thing started to develop.

This development of early life might be considered as a very slow step but is the clearest example that we can have of how important lighting is in our life as planet earth and the sun managed to develop a different sorts of life which eventually developed in a very intelligent life.

Reference –

Williams, B, 1999. History. A History of Light and Lighting, [Online]. 2.2, 88. Available at: http://www.mts.net/ [Accessed 06 April 2015]

Lighting – Essay focused on the psychological and physiological effect of interior lighting on human life (Brain storm)

For this essay I intend to focus on the psychological and physiological effect of lighting on human being in residential building.

Throughout the research I intend to start from the early signs of lighting which emerged within the development of the universe. With different references to the subject I intend to emphasis on the importance of lighting for different living forms to highlight the importance of this element for life.

When observing the subject with different online research and including different literature which are specifically written on the subject, I started to observe the strength of lighting for our well being and how much it is important to be implemented in the ideal way in design.

I intend to highlight different element regarding both natural and artificial lighting in a particular section of this my essay. This decision was made after evaluating the importance of both lighting elements and the importance of balance between light sources.

Lighting is important in different situations in life which affect our well being. For every activity that we do in our daily life we have to have specific lighting strategies to get the optimum performance from our bodies. In this essay I intend to focus on lighting strategies which are specifically design for residential spaces. When observing different strategies, residential lighting design are mainly focused on the everyday life tasks and on the comfort of the .user in different situations. 

Reference List

Williams, B, 1999. History. A History of Light and Lighting, [Online]. 2.2, 88. Available at: http://www.mts.net/ [Accessed 06 April 2015]

Altomonte, S, 2005. Lighting and Physiology. Artificial and Natural Light Related to the Human Body, [Online]. 1, 19. Available at: http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ [Accessed 08 April 2015]

Ginthner, D, 2002. Implication. Lighting: Its Effect on People and Spaces, [Online]. 1, 5. Available at: http://www.informedesign.org/ [Accessed 06 April 2015]

Lawson, B, 2001. The Language of Space. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Architectural Press

Gordon, G, 2003. Interior Lighting for Designers. 4th ed. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Psychological and Physiological Effect of Lighting on Humans - Final Essay Brainstorm

-          -Introduction ( strengthen my argument on the importance of lighting for human beings)

-          -Highlighting the importance of lighting by stating facts about the early years of planet earth

-          -The importance of early lighting for the initial human species

-          -Diverting away from our nature ( biological clock ) highlighting the problems created during the past because of our lifestyle ( Dr. Sergio Altomonte’s research paper )

-          -The effect of lighting from Dr. Sergio Altomonte research paper

-          -The effect of natural light with the effect of artificial light on human psychology and physiology

-          -How we relate to our surrounding space

-          -How we perceive the surrounding space because of lighting application

-          -How a the same space can be perceived in different ways because of different lighting strategies ( lighting for interior designers )

-          -Mood and emotions created by lighting in interior space

-          -Natural and artificial lighting in residential space

-          -Specific lighting strategies to create the ideal ambiance in residential interior which manipulate mood and emotions.

-          -Description of different lighting setup in residential spaces

-          -Description of the psychological and physiological effect of different lighting setups on human beings in residential space

-          -Conclusion which highlights the importance of lighting for human psychology and physiology in residential spaces

Psychological and Physiological Effect of Lighting on Humans - Initial brain storm

-         - Introduction

-          -Introduction to history

-          -The starting point of lighting in the development of the universe

-          -The importance of lighting for the first signs of light in the initial stages of the earth

-          -Transforming light in to life regarding the initial life forms on earth

-          -The importance of light for the initial human species.

-          -The discovery of fire – considered as the first sign of artificial light

-          -The psychological effect of light from fire to the humans.

-          -The problem created by human regarding our wellbeing and mental health in our daily life ( -biological clock)

-         - Human life in its surroundings

-          -Our perception of space

-          -How lighting effects of perception of space.

-          -How lighting effect human behavior

-          -The psychological and physiological effect of the perception of space on humans

-          -How space is directly affected by lighting setup