Seasonal Affective Disorder and Lighting

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that typically occurs during fall or winter. The shorter days and less daylight can trigger a mood change. Major symptoms of SAD include feeling sad, sleep problems, changes in weight and appetite, irritability, feeling useless or hopeless, and more. SAD can upset a person’s biological clock and disturb neurotransmitter functions. Lighting is one of the main treatments for SAD. Salex offers a variety of lighting that can help improve wellness:

Axis Lighting

Axis Lighting offers two types of technologies, CoeLux and BIOS SkyBlue™. CoeLux uses the latest LED technology to create the full spectrum of sunlight, which features nano-structured materials to replicate the Rayleigh scattering affect. This allows us to experience the perfect replica of blue skies on a sunny day. With CoeLux, you feel the physical and psychological effects of daylight.

BIOS SkyBlue is a circadian lighting tool that aligns our bodies with the 24-hour day. The human eye contains a protein called melanopsin which is highly sensitive to blue-sky wavelengths. Melanopsin can be stimulated by light to send a signal to the body’s master clock – this signal triggers biological processes including hormone production (e.g. cortisol for alertness in the morning and melatonin in the nighttime to promote sleep). It works in conjunction with traditional white light LEDs, so it appears like white light, but the actual spectrum is different. SkyBlue lighting systems aim to deliver the benefits of natural light such as improved alertness, better sleep, health, and well-being.

Signify

NatureConnect by Signify is built on proven Biophilic Design principles to mimic the natural patterns of daylight to enhance wellbeing, stimulate interaction, and to overall create a more engaging and attractive indoor environment. NatureConnect combines three LED luminaires for a fully immersive natural experience. Daylight mimics the daily rhythm of the sun to help activity during the day and rest at night. Skylight is a view of the blue sky to connect with nature. Lightscape applies natural colours and dynamics on the wall for a fully immersive experience.

NatureConnect’s DayRhythm mode automatically allows for the right amount of light and submerges the occupants in a dynamic array of colours. The NatureConnect system provides standard scenes with the ability to customize outputs based on the users’ activities, preferences, and circadian needs.

Lightglass

Lightglass recreates the light and spatial experience of an actual window. Lightglass simulates daylight and changes colour and intensity throughout the day replicating sunlight through a real window. Lightglass implements the latest research on circadian lighting, seasonal affective disorder, and biophilic design. These lights are encased in aluminum and glass, not plastic or acrylic.

Viscor

Viscor and BIOS have partnered to provide wellness lighting solutions. BIOS illuminated solutions bring the natural brilliance of the outdoors where it is needed the most – for human health and beyond. Research has shown that our circadian system has its peak sensitivity in the ‘sky blue’ region near 490nm. BIOS SkyBlue delivers a distinct peak in the ‘sky blue’ region at 490nm where traditional LEDs (used for colour tuning) have a significant drop in their sky blue content, regardless of temperature. BIOS SkyBlue surpasses traidional white LEDs in melanopic content regardless of CCT.

Salex is committed to providing lighting solutions that improve wellbeing. Contact us to get started!