Why Natural Light Is Important

Many businesses around the world have been reaping the benefits of incorporating natural light in the workplace. From increased focus and productivity to more sales; it's been proven that getting rid of artificial light and opening the curtains is better for human health, productivity, and even your electric bill! But businesses aren't the only ones benefiting from natural light. Colleges and universities are now seeing increased performance from students when designing with natural light in mind. In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the biggest benefits of incorporating daylight into design for collegiate spaces!

Natural Light Improves Performance

In a study carried out by the Heschong Mahone Group, it was revealed that when students take a test in a naturally lit room, they score better on the tests. And not just marginally better. Recent studies are showing classrooms with the most daylighting experience up to 20% better learning rates in math related coursework and a 26% improved rate in reading overall compared to little or no daylight.

Natural Light Creates a Healthy Learning Environment

The importance of daylight for human health has never been more apparent and cannot be understated. In fact, according to a recent study poor daylighting causes discomfort, which reduces learning and can be detrimental to the physical and mental health of students. By contrast, incorporating plenty of natural light into your campus facilities will promote vitamin D generation and circadian regulation. It will enhance mental performance, decrease depression, improve sleep, and can even help treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Natural Light Promotes Sustainable Building Design

Natural light can do more than just improve student health and productivity. It can also increase your college's sustainability and lower your electric bill! America’s schools reportedly spend more than $8 billion each year on energy, and about 26 percent of electricity consumed by a typical school is for lighting alone. Natural light could present a big opportunity to reduce the amount of energy you use for lighting by 30 to 50 percent! With the price of energy on the rise, being able to inexpensively light your campus facilities is a massive financial advantage. It's clear that natural light can have amazing beneficial effects on student health and success. But what do you think? Will you be incorporating more natural light in your facilities?

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