This April it’s Stress Awareness Month – a much-needed national initiative that aims to help companies and individuals to recognise and deal with the stresses of modern life.

Here at Greenlite Group, we asked our own expert, the Lighting Doctor to explain how human-centric lighting can help you achieve a good night’s sleep and in turn… beat the stress.

Stress can impact our life in many ways. One of the most commonly reported negative effects is on our quality of sleep. Did you know that people who suffer from stress at work are far more likely to experience poor sleep patterns?

We have probably all experienced it at one point or another, lying in bed at night worrying about work. It is near-impossible to relax enough to fall asleep. According to The Sleep Council almost half of Britons say that stress or worry keeps them awake at night.

It’s a vicious cycle too. If you don’t get enough sleep, the levels of stress hormones rise. And the chemicals connected with deep sleep are the same ones that tell the body to stop producing stress hormones.

According to Lisa Artis, a sleep advisor at The Sleep Council “Bedtime should be your time – a place where you can switch off, forget about the busyness of the day and relax.”

So how can the right light help you get a restful night’s sleep? Believe it or not, lighting has a profound effect on our sleep. By giving our bodies’ access to the right light at the right time, it helps reset our body clocks, ensuring we are alert during the day and sleepy at night.

The good news is latest ‘human-centric’ LED lighting systems can help here. When we are at work, they can be set to closely replicate daylight and help our bodies to feel fully alert. Then back at home, light levels can be dimmed to a warmer ‘colour’, which helps our body wind down towards sleep.

Lighting – both in your home and your office - can be set so they automatically adjust to our needs throughout the day; starting it with a stimulating blue light that ensures we’re raring to go.

It all helps!

Our message to businesses and employees everywhere is this: By taking steps to encourage better sleeping patterns, such having the right levels of lighting, it could go a long way to helping you reduce your stress levels. And, that’s good news for every one!

https://www.greenlitegroup.co.uk/