Classroom lighting can be an overlooked variable for children and adults’ success in school. However, studies have shown that the quality of lighting – the good, the bad, and the ugly – not only affects the student’s ability to clearly see the white/black board, it also vastly impacts the individual’s concentration and performance in the classroom. Lighting plays a critical role in our everyday lives. In fact, your overall feeling of health and well-being can change with just the flick of a switch, so it’s worth our while to understand the quality of light that’s shining down on us as we struggle for focus and productivity.
A 2006 study by Berman et al. on classroom lighting showed that high color temperature fluorescent lighting helps students see clearer and allows them to read and absorb information more quickly. It also reduces the visual fatigue and glare that are typically experienced with standard color temperature fluorescent lighting.
For those unfamiliar with lighting temperatures and colors, what do they mean?
Temperature of light, measured in Kelvin (K), is a numerical measurement of the color that is emitted when an object is heated in a high enough temperature. As the temperature rises, the object changes colors and emits certain colors of that light.
Just take, for example, a blacksmith heating up an iron horseshoe. As the temperature increases, the horseshoe will start to glow different colors from red, then orange, then yellow, then white, and, finally, it will emit a bluish-white color. Lower color temperature light sources are called “warm” because they emit red, orange and yellow color, whereas higher color temperature light sources are called “cool” because they are on the violet and blue end of the color spectrum.
Classroom lighting used one study included standard 3600K correlated color temperature (CCT) lights and 5500K CCT fluorescent fixtures.
To elaborate, below is a breakdown of correlated color temperatures:
In short, high-quality classroom lighting improves students’ visual acuity, giving them the sight they need to perform well in school.
Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision. Visual Acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (i) the sharpness of the terinal focus within the eye, (ii) the helath and functioning of the retina, and (iii) the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of the brain.
What does a smaller pupil diameter mean? When the pupil is smaller, the depth of the vision field increases and visual acuity improves. This, in turn, results in a reduction in visual fatigue, faster reading times and less visual glare. Essentially, the eye is seeing at its most optimal level.
Whether you are using high color temperature classroom lighting bulbs or classroom light filters to increase the color temperature, you will find your students benefit from improved visual acuity and performance in the classroom. By adding more blue/green into the color spectrum, you are essentially creating full spectrum light.
The study also notes a strong correlation between pupil size and reading performance, where light spectrum, not brightness is the driving factor. In a follow-up blog, we will examine exactly how replacing lighting in classrooms with full spectrum lighting has proven to increase reading and math test scores.
It’s clear there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to lighting in the classroom and workplace, so we ask ourselves, is programmable lighting perhaps in the future? The ability to tailor your lighting to the season and/or time of day could be essential productivity, stimulation, and relaxation to truly maximize your day.
