The Blog

equator-select

Headache and fatigue are some of the consequences of inappropriate lighting, which can have a direct impact on the quality of work
 
Inadequate lighting can cause eye fatigue, fatigue, headache, stress and accidents. Also, sudden changes of lighting intensity can be dangerous, because they cause temporarily blindness, while the eye adapts to the new lighting. A well-lit environment is not only that which has enough light but it also needs to be positioned properly over the place.
 
In order to achieve a good level of visual comfort, a balance must be achieved between quantity, quality and stability of the light, in such a way that an absence of reflections and flicker is obtained, uniformity of lighting and absence of excessive contractions is the main aim of professionals in the area.
Incorrect illumination can also be the cause of inadequate postures that generate muscle-skeletal alterations in the long run. One of the most known effects caused by poor lighting is Visual Fatigue Syndrome, which affects 75% of computer users.
 
Effects of inadequate lighting on health
Light regulates or alters a series of functions in the human body. It is key to know some of the effects caused by inadequate lighting in work or study spaces.
• Eye disorders: pain and inflammation in the eyelids, eyestrain, heaviness, tearing, redness, irritation, altered vision.
 
• Headaches: while this is the most common sign that tells someone needs to wear glasses, the treating doctor must check them to see if it is the lighting that causes them.
 
• Fatigue: lack of energy, exhaustion. When it is caused by enlightenment, a person who wakes up with a lot of energy, loses it easily. If the person is exhausted due to stress or lack of sleep, the fatigue spreads throughout the day. The doctor should review other additional factors in light.
 
• Emotional effects: Lack of concentration and productivity, low attention and discouragement.
 
Lighting at work
Light allows people to receive much of the information that relates to the external environment through sight, so the process of seeing becomes fundamental for human activity and is linked to the need of having a good source of lighting. By extension, in the workplace is essential the existence of correct lighting that allows to see without difficulty the tasks that are carried out in the workplace or in other places of the company (warehouse, garage, laboratory, offices, etc.), as well as to travel safely through the areas of passage, roads, stairs or corridors.
 
Next, we present a set of preventive measures that can help any work activity to be developed within healthy parameters regarding the lighting that is needed.
 
Precautionary measures
 
1. Consider the level of lighting according to each activity and the work area in which it is carried out, as well as the actual conditions of the job. Keep in mind: the size of the details that need to be seen; the distance between the eye and the observed object; the contrast between the details of the object and the background on which it stands and also the age of the worker (usually, from the age of forty, alterations in the visual capacity of people usually occur).
 
2. Natural light offers many advantages with respect to clarity, energy saving and the feeling of well-being that it provides people with. However, it must be taken into account that it varies with time (time of day, stage of the year, etc.), so you always have to rely on artificial lighting, even if in a complementary way, using light bulbs, fluorescent or energy saving lamps. All these lighting systems must be accompanied by screens that hide them from the direct visual range of people in order to avoid glare (this occurs when we see a stronger light than the eye is ready to receive at that moment) and that, at the same time, facilitates the channelling of light to the place that interests us.
 
3. Plan the lighting of a workplace by orienting the light correctly. The light should be directed as a priority towards the materials and objects with which we work but taking care to guide the localised lighting avoiding the formation of reflections on the material. It is advisable that the upper part of the walls be light coloured, which contributes to the convenient diffusion of light.
 
4. Install localised lighting in those workstations that require it, when general lighting is moderated and may be insufficient to perform certain tasks. In these cases, the light should be located obliquely behind the left shoulder of the person, in the case that he or she uses his or her right hand, and conversely, if he or she is a left-handed worker.
 
5. Immediately repair the points of light that are damaged. Clean and replace the light sources in a planned way, taking into account its duration (a bulb usually has an average duration of 1,000 hours) and its performance, if you want to maintain the original lighting level. Keep in mind that the amount of light emitted decreases with increasing equipment age due to the wear of light sources and dirt.
 
6. Consider aspects related to colour as it produces in the observer emotional psychic reactions that can be positive or negative. Although there is no valid formula that allows selecting the most appropriate colours for each workspace, there are general criteria that can be taken as a reference.
Five basic questions regarding lighting
 
There are several questions that you should ask yourself to evaluate if the lighting of your place of study or work is adequate.
 
• At what time is the space used? Day, night or both?
• Does the space have natural light during the day, through doors and windows?
• Is there only one type of fluorescent in this space or several?
• Do flashes, glare or is there any kind of excessive sunlight at any time of the day?
• What kind of task is done in the workspace? (computer work, detailed manual work, meetings, exhibitions).
 
To avoid problems, contact us! We are professionals in the lighting area.