The Age-Well Project

Change the way you age

Get our posts direct to your inbox

  • About The Age-Well Project
  • Books
    • Our Books
    • Reviews
    • References
  • Blog
  • Recipes
    • Recipes By Ingredient
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Family
    • On The Go
    • Soups and Salads
    • Treats and Snacks
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Press

WHY WE NEED LIGHT

May 25, 2019 5 Comments

It’s exam season in the UK and all six of our children are mid-revision. We’re diligently feeding them blueberries, nuts, leafy greens and oily fish, not to mention our brain-improving coffee and chocolate biscuits. But there’s something else they need to perform at their best. And it’s something that’s often overlooked: light. Thank goodness the British sun has tentatively started to shine!

An American study involving 21,000 students found those studying in the most light-filled classrooms progressed 20% faster in maths and 26% faster at reading than students in classrooms with less light. A Swedish study compared students working in daylight with those working beneath fluorescent light and found the latter were less able to deal with stress and infection, leading the author to speculate that lack of daylight could ‘influence the children’s ability to concentrate.’ More here.

It’s not only revising students who benefit from natural light. The sick and those recovering from illness also appear to make greater progress with the addition of light.

A study from Loughborough University found that for every increase in daylight of 100 lux (a lux is a standard measure of illuminance), a patient’s stay in an intensive care unit was cut by over seven hours. A study of Canadian patients recovering from heart attacks found those put in brighter rooms had a higher rate of survival than those given beds in gloomier rooms. Meanwhile a study of patients in a Korean hospital found that patients in bright sun-lit rooms left hospital between 16 and 41% faster than patients in dimly-lit rooms.

Recently we’ve been reading about the near-infrared light contained in sunlight, which – using a process called photobiomodulation – appears to boost cognition and reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s. More to come in a future post.

We also know from several studies (including a 2014 study from the University of Illinois) that workers with little access to light during the day sleep less well than those of us whose days are spent in the light. Meanwhile a 2018 report from Cornell University found that workers who were relocated to an office suffused with natural light reported an 84% drop in symptoms of eye strain, headaches and blurred vision – symptoms that often accompany prolonged working on a screen and can radically affect productivity. The same workers also reported a 10% increase in energy and alertness when moved to a brightly lit office. Read the report.

No wonder then that a poll of 1600 employees found natural light (aka a desk near a window) to be the preferred office perk – far outweighing onsite cafeterias or fitness centres. Read more here 

The serotonin-boosting properties of light have been explored as a means of reducing depression (both seasonal – SAD – and non-seasonal) in numerous studies, sometimes with good results. Another reason to ensure we have plenty of light in our lives.

I’m lucky enough to have a desk immediately in front of a window that looks onto trees (apparently this is the pre-eminent office perk: a window looking onto a view of greenery). Meanwhile, my daughter has relocated her revision desk to a room with a window overlooking the garden – something she did intuitively and without any urging or statistical quoting from me.

But even a light-filled office can’t compete with the great outdoors. The luminance in a typical office is between 100 and 300 lux during the daytime, whereas even on the drabbest winter’s day it’s at least 10 times brighter outside. When science writer, Linda Geddes, increased her daylight lux exposure, her sleep efficiency (the ratio of time sleeping to time in bed) increased by almost 1% for each additional 100 lux increase. The result? An extra ten minutes of sleep each night. In other words, the more time you spend outside during the day, the better your sleep will be (hopefully!).

It’s not only natural light that our revising progeny need. To perform at their best they also need clean air. A report  from Harvard University showed cognitive function (the ability to think clearly and sharply) soared between 60 and 100% in offices with clean air, eradicated of pollutants. For us, this means opening the windows regularly, using an air purifier and having the right chemical-guzzling plants placed throughout the house. We’ll be writing about the best plants to have in your home in an upcoming post, but I’ll leave you with one for now: common garden ivy.

Not only do we need plenty of light in our lives, but those of us inhabiting northerly latitudes also need direct sunlight on our skin – something that’s been discouraged during recent years because of fears over skin cancer. However, a handful of scientists now believe these fears may have been exaggerated. I’ll be exploring this in the next month and reporting back on my own experiment with unscreened sunshine.

In the meantime get yourself to a window – or outside – and soak up the light while we have it. Your brain and body will thank you… Particularly if you also fortify yourself with the ‘brain foods’ pictured, as identified by Harvard Health.

We were sad to hear, yesterday, of the death of artist and writer, Judith Kerr. One of our Age-Well heroines, Judith worked every day until she died a few weeks short of her 96th birthday.  Her account of escaping Nazi Germany, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, was a book I read with my children, as were her memorable books about Mog the cat, and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. She continues to be an inspiration to us.

Annabel

 

c

  • Conditions: Brain and Dementia, Depression, Mental health, Mood
« HOW TO BE HAPPY: GET HEALTHY, GET MARRIED AND GO OUT FOR DINNER
ENHANCING MEMORY, AND AN ICE CREAM TO HELP YOU SLEEP! »

Comments

  1. Susie Bell Proctor says

    May 25, 2019 at 10:29 am

    Perhaps prolonged exposure to natural light accounts for the apparent robust health of keen gardeners. I have known many aged gardeners who have continued to engage in quite strenuous gardening activity with a gusto that belies their years!

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      May 26, 2019 at 7:20 am

      I agree. Gardening and ageing well seem to go hand-in-hand. It’s also the exercise and the contact with the soil which I’m writing about at the moment. Fascinating bacteria in earth, vital for our health and only now starting to be understood. Watch this space!

      Reply
  2. Lindsay Hanson says

    May 28, 2019 at 5:41 am

    With reference to air quality – was reminded of an earlier posting where you mentioned recommendations for air purifiers. Are you still working on this or have I missed the blog. Thanks and thanks for blog absolutely love it!

    Reply
  3. Harry Brown says

    November 1, 2019 at 12:53 am

    Good web site you have got here.. It’s difficult to find excellent writing like yours these days.
    I seriously appreciate people like you! Take care!!

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      November 3, 2019 at 9:35 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Harry. You take care too!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Welcome to The Age-Well Project

Welcome to The Age-Well Project!
Here you’ll find easy changes for a longer, happier life. We’ve immersed ourselves in the science of longevity and distilled the research to make it work in our everyday lives. You can change the way you age: here’s how.

Favourite Posts

WHY I’VE THROWN OUT ALL MY BEAUTY PRODUCTS (nearly…)

Why Alzheimer’s Is A Women’s Issue

HOW HAVING A DOG CHANGED MY LIFE

GREEN SPACE IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, SADNESS AND BRAIN-BOOSTING BISCUITS

WHY ‘INFLAMM-AGEING’ COULD START IN THE GUT AND HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD

POLYAMINES – THE NEW SECRET WEAPON FOR AGEING WELL & MOROCCAN SPINACH AND CHICKPEAS.

THINNING AGEING HAIR – WARM CHICKEN LIVER SALAD

About The Age Well Project

This site is for anyone who wants to make the second half of their life as healthy, happy and disease-free as possible. Sign up to get the latest research on ageing – and delicious recipes to match – direct to your inbox.

agewellproject

⭐️Change the way you age
📚The Age-Well Project + Age-Well Plan ⭐️Get tips & recipes on our blog - sign up ⬇️

The Age-Well Project blog
How your brain changes in menopause, the impact of How your brain changes in menopause, the impact of HRT and lifestyle factors, the role of the blood-brain barrier, the best vegetables for cognitive health AND a delicious recipe…. 

……featuring @davinamccall @dr_mosconi #robertadiazbrinton #richardisaacson and many more…

… all on the blog - link in bio

#brainhealth #cognitivehealth #cognitivefunction #menopause #postmenopause #hrt #midlife #midlifewomen #midlifehealth #over50 #womenover50 #apoe4 #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #alzheimersprevention #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #theagewellproject #longevity #fitover50 #over50andfit #healthynutrition #healthyeating #plantbased #plantforward
We’re celebrating The Age-Well Project’s 3rd b We’re celebrating The Age-Well Project’s 3rd birthday this month! 🎈🎉🎈🥳🎈

We've got two copies of the paperback version (the smaller version - it's very cute) to give away here on Insta.

To win, make sure you follow us, tag a friend  in the comments below and if the Wheel of Names picks you out, you'll both win a copy.

Giveaway closes at midnight BST on Tuesday May 24th. Good luck!

#theagewellproject #giveaway #longevity #fitover50 #over50andfit #healthynutrition #healthyeating #postmenopause #agewell #over50 #womenover50 #friyay #fridayfeeling #ageingwell #agingwell #midlifewomen #midlifehealth #healthyliving  #midlife #ageingwell #agingwell #postmenopausalhealth #menopauseandbeyond #healthyliving #bookstagram #authorsofinstagram
Interested in how our ancestors cooked? Annabel wi Interested in how our ancestors cooked? Annabel will be talking about the food and cooks of Victorian England at @britishlibrary in London next Wednesday with the #BLFoodSeason founder @prussell777 … a few tickets still available! Book via British library food season website #agewell #eatwell #healthyeating #eatlikeyourancestors #foodhistory #culinaryhistory
Who should invest in a pair of walking (sometimes Who  should invest in a pair of walking (sometimes called trekking) poles?

Well, those of us  who enjoy hiking. Or those of us with lower back pain, obesity, Parkinson’s or general frailty.  Or those of us that want a more youthful gait. Or those of us that want to work all our muscles without going to a gym or messing around with weights. Or those of us that want our exertions to feel less … exerting! 

Sooooooo pretty much anyone who wants to age well! 

But which poles, and what do we do with them? It’s all on the blog - link in bio

#agewell #agingwell #ageingwell #longevity #healthyageing #healthyaging #lifespan #healthspan #nationalwalkingmonth #healthylifestyle #over50 #over50blogger #over50andfit #fitover50 #midlife #midlifehealth #midlifefitness #midlifewomen #postmenopause #menopausalhealth #womenwhowalk #womenwhohike #hiking #trekkinglovers #walkwithpoles #womenhikers #trekkinglife #hikingadventures #hikinguk
RIP Kane Tanaka, the world’s oldest living perso RIP Kane Tanaka, the world’s oldest living person who died last week aged 119. She spent her last years playing the strategy board game, Othello, apparently. Asked for the happiest moment in her life, she replied ´Now’. She has been ‘replaced’ as the oldest person alive by a French nun who is currently 118 and survived catching Covid last year. Asked if Covid had frightened her, she replied ´no… because I wasn’t afraid to die.’ Draw your own conclusions (if you want to)!

#agewell
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Contact Us

For any enquiries please email theagewellproject@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2022 The Age-Well Project