As we age, we become less active, and we begin to spend more and more time indoors. This is a sad truth, but it's one that should be taken into consideration for seniors, especially those who reside in assisted living facilities. While things like exercise and socialization are always taken care of by the caregivers, have you ever stopped to consider whether poor lighting is negatively impacting your patient's health?
Light plays an integral part in our biology, and an absence of quality light can have invisible, yet devastating effects on us psychologically and even physically. This article will go over four ways that poor lighting could be negatively impacting the health of seniors in care facilities or even in their homes. Switching up the lighting in your facility is a relatively inexpensive way to give a massive quality of life boost to patients.
#1 Depression
Poor quality lighting can have a dramatic impact on mental health. The relationship between lack of lighting and depression has been well documented, and there is strong evidence that it has a serious psychological impact. Study participants who lived with poor lighting conditions were 1.4 times as likely to report cases of depression as their counterparts. Natural spectrum lighting can help to fight off SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) in patients who spend much of their time indoors due to being bedridden or having mobility issues. People who work or live in buildings with circadian lighting find themselves to be in better moods and are more productive in general than under lower quality lighting conditions.
#2 Vision
It's no secret that elderly residents already have failing vision, and low lighting conditions can amply this for them. Did you know that as you age your pupils actually get smaller? When this begins to happen the eyes will begin to have a slower reaction to light. Thus, Seniors will need more light to perform everyday tasks than younger people will. Having to try to read under inadequate lighting conditions can also create eye strain for those who already struggle with their vision. While lighting may seem like a small thing to worry about, it can actually provide a large improvement in the day to day quality of life for many seniors.
#3 Fall Injuries
Not only did researchers find that their study participants were more likely to be depressed in poor lighting environments, but they were also more likely to suffer injuries from falls! Surprisingly, the percentage of recorded falls seemed to be similar in both older and younger study participants. However, older patients have a lot more to lose from a fall, and while a younger person may quickly recover from a tumble, it could put a senior in the hospital. Participants in the study who reported inadequate lighting were 1.5 times more likely to have reported some type of fall-related accident in their homes.
#4 Headaches
Seniors often already have a medley of aches and pains, because that's just how aging is, unfortunately. However, did you realize that your lighting could be adding another inconvenience to their list of woes? Poor quality lighting, especially cheap, industrial office style lighting has been known to cause headaches in those who spend a great deal of time under it. Some people can actually be very sensitive to the flicker of fluorescent tubes, and it triggers painful migraines for them. By switching to a higher-quality and more beneficial type of lighting, you could be improving the health of not only your patients but also your employees who work under these lights as well.