Neuroscience research makes natural light seem like a magical substance, one that we just can’t consume too much of (as long as there’s plenty of sunscreen). Workplaces with exterior walls that are little more than acres of vertical transparent glass are not necessarily perfect workplaces, however.
Don’t get me wrong, there are oodles and oodles of reasons to bathe interiors in natural light. Neuroscience research shows that it makes it more likely we’ll be in a good mood, and that means that in spaces with more natural light we’re likely to use our brains more effectively, to better solve problems, think creatively, and get along with other people. Research has also directly tied experiencing more natural light indoors to better mental and physical wellbeing and performance.
However, workplaces that are flooded with natural light can be:
- Hot (or less frequently cold) if windows aren’t insulated and/or blinds aren’t in use. When temperatures where we are are not what we’d choose, they’re not pleasant for us, we’re stressed and stressed means distracted from whatever we’re being paid to accomplish. When we’re over-heated we’re likely to be grumpy and particularly bad company for co-workers. If you live and die by workplace evaluations you should know that when people are too hot, their evaluations of the areas around them decline, for example, we feel more crowded when we’re hot than we do if a space seems to be the right temperature. Surface colors can help with the temperature we think it is in a space (i.e., we feel slightly cooler in a space that features cooler colors and a little bit warmer in one flush with warmer shades), but color can only do so much to adjust temperatures, its effects seem to be about five degrees Fahrenheit. And to top things off: when a space has more natural light in it, we think it’s slightly warmer than when that natural light is absent, even when the temperature is actually the same in both cases.
- Glare-y. Natural light + shiny surfaces = glare. When we’re at just the wrong angle to a window as we sit and toil away the glare on our screens can get intense also. Glare makes us tense. To complicate things further: when it is hot in an area we think more glare is present.
- Too public. When windows are very large or positioned inappropriately, passersby can see into spaces, which can be bad, even if you aren’t doing work for the CIA. Just feeling like they’re on display causes people to change how they’re working, generally in ways that are quite undesirable, individuals feel wary and unsettled. Windows and the people in windowed spaces benefit from light-blocking/privacy-enhancing blinds/curtains (even if just because they provide a wellbeing boost because those blinds/curtains mean people have some control over their physical environments), but when windows are large, bills for blinds/curtains can be high, and corners can be cut.
Even if natural light makes life complicated, it definitely should be wherever we are, if security, etc., allows (Satish, Joseph, and Nanavati, 2022): “Exposure to daylight, in particular, plays an outsized role in our overall well-being and mental health. Like almost all animals, humans have a circadian cycle that regulates sleep, metabolism, heart rate, and body temperature over a 24-hour cycle. Daylight is the main environmental stimulus that syncs the body’s internal clock with the external world. . . . Studies have shown that daylight access can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and even improve a person’s cognitive function”
Usha Satish, Anjali Joseph, and Kaushal Nanavati. 2022. “Illuminating Results,” Healthcare Design, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 26-27.
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.
