With full-spectrum light against winter depression and fatigue

Winter in the home office: How full spectrum light can help...

Tiredness and lack of drive are common in our latitudes during the dark season. In some cases, the winter blues can even worsen into full-blown winter depression. In this article you will find out where the wintry mood lows come from and how you can avoid them – especially in the home office.

Winter depression in the home office?

Winter is approaching. The days are now getting shorter and darkness is entering our everyday lives. Our lives are shifting indoors. There we work under uniform artificial light instead of under invigorating daylight. When it comes to a well-equipped home office, most people first think of ergonomic chairs or suitably equipped screens. Above all, the right light is essential for full performance and motivation in the home office, especially in the dark season! Those who work in the home office often come out even less than commuters - and thus get even less daylight.

The result can be seasonal winter depression. Since the corona pandemic has forced many employees to work from home, the chance of slipping into a depressive mood during the dark season has also increased. Symptoms are concentration problems, listlessness or clouded feelings up to a leaden heaviness.

Where do the low moods come from in the dark season?

The winter blues, or SAD (seasonal depression) to be medically correct, occurs because our biological clock gets out of step without enough natural light.

Human evolution took place in the open air. That's why our sleep-wake cycle is so closely linked to the course of the day's sunlight. In the morning, the first light of the sun stimulates our body to form the activating messenger substance serotonin. The bluer the light gets throughout the day, the more serotonin is released and the more awake we become. At midday, when we are most active, the color temperature shifts more and more towards the bluish spectrum. Towards evening, when the sun goes down, it changes back to red and the tiring melatonin level rises. Exactly this dynamic course of daylight, which we need for a healthy day-night rhythm, is severely disturbed under static artificial light.

The problem is exacerbated in the dark season, as we lack of light dynamics also distributed throughout the day too little lighting are exposed. Where there are around 3.500 lux outside even on an overcast winter day, we only have a fraction of that indoors. With artificial light, this is often only around 500 lux.

Importance of daylight in the home office

dawn

For a good start to the day, the HEAVN One daylight lamp gets your circulation going even on cloudy days.

afternoon low

Use the activating effect of the light and overcome tiredness and headaches in the home office.

After work light

The indirect evening light creates a pleasant ambience and lets the day in the home office end perfectly.

Avoid winter blues in the home office with full-spectrum light

Conventional lamps used in desk lamps for the home office usually only have a static color temperature, either warm white (3000 Kelvin), neutral white (4000 Kelvin) or daylight white (6500 Kelvin). Depending on their color, they calm us down like a sunset (3000 Kelvin), keep us focused like morning light (4000 Kelvin) or activate us like the midday sun (6500 Kelvin).

It is clear that static light cannot give our biorhythm the dynamic light we need for our well-being at any time of the day. Only a light source that can reproduce all color temperatures and thus simulate the dynamic course of daylight can do that. Such a light source is the full-spectrum daylight lamp (also: full-spectrum lamp). As an LED lamp with control, this technology is also often called Tunable White.

What can a full-spectrum daylight lamp do?

An LED full-spectrum lamp contains the entire spectrum of daylight from 2.000 Kelvin to 6500 Kelvin and, in conjunction with intelligent light control, can reproduce the course of natural daylight. This type of daylight tracking is also called in technical jargon "Human Centric Lighting", i.e. lighting that focuses on people’s well-being.

The advantages of LED full spectrum daylight lamps

More focus

increased concentration and longer performance

More health

greater well-being & fewer headaches

More effectiveness

more drive and at the same time less tiredness

By the way: Only full-spectrum daylight lamps have all these benefits and act on our circadian rhythm. This should not be confused with the so-called daylight lamps (or also: sunlight lamps). These are namely static lamps with the color temperature of the bluish midday light (6500 Kelvin).

Brighten the mood with a full-spectrum lamp

If the full-spectrum lamp also has a correspondingly high luminous flux (measured in lumens), it can even simulate the high illuminance (measured in lux) of daylight. Illuminance levels between 600 lux and 2.500 lux already show clear physiological effects.

Lamps that achieve an effect of up to 10.000 lux can also be used for effective light therapy. But even at lower illuminance levels, a full-spectrum daylight lamp has a pleasant, revitalizing effect that is equivalent to gentle light therapy. Instead of sitting down in front of a special light therapy lamp after work, you can feel the beneficial effects of light therapy all day long with the right full-spectrum lighting in your home office.

A home office full-spectrum daylight lamp that can do all of this can be found here.