Color has been found to affect brain activity and hormone production, and to influence a person’s mood and emotions. This can be evidenced by physiological responses such as changes in blood pressure or the heartbeat. For instance, the color red can result in raised blood pressure and a quickened pulse, whereas blue typically has a calming effect.
As early as 1976, Rikard Kuller demonstrated that color and visual patterning affect both the brain's cortex and the body’s nervous system.1 Kuller determined that alpha brain wave activity is altered in reaction to the energy produced by the light carrying color. Then in 1996, Frank H. Mahnke published Color Environment & Human Response2, exploring the effects of color, both emotional and biological responses. led high bay light manufacturers conducted by Lois Swirnhoff using highly saturated colors in room lighting found that blue calmed the senses of the subjects, but the effects of red light were inconclusive.3
The creation of lighting effects, largely enabled by LED lighting, is now used by the medical profession to inspire human alertness or create a more calming environment for patients. The brain’s hypothalamus reacts to color, producing different effects as the wavelength and energy of each color varies.
Core change
As LEDs have made colored lighting more accessible and controllable, many healthcare and medical centers are modifying light distribution, color, or the correlated color temperature (CCT) of white light (from cool to warm) to help patients while improving lighting and energy efficiency.
Gregg Ryberg, director of sales, healthcare, Cree, believes that the move away from a clinical to a welcoming environment is positive. “The healthcare industry is amidst one of the greatest core changes in the last 25 years,” he said, “shifting away from a clinical view to more of a hospitality view. As a result, improving patient satisfaction and wellbeing, while controlling costs, is critical for today’s healthcare providers, with lighting playing a tremendous role.”
He cited how quality of light is essential to create spaces that address clinical and emotional needs. For example, proper lighting distribution can be comforting for patients, while clean, crisp light is needed to help staff perform duties, assess wounds, and diagnose efficiently. “Soft, low-glare lighting can help foster a restful treatment and recovery environment, with a calm, soothing atmosphere for patients and families,” he said. “Less stressed, more comfortable patients tend to have better outcomes and spend less time in the healthcare facility.”
Technology drive
Another trend Ryberg identified is that the acquisition of the latest technology leads to adopting lighting that enhances the ambience of its setting.
One example is the CT (computerized tomography) scanner room at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, UK. Superintendent radiographer Suzanne Browne explained the reason for introducing the Philips AmbiScene lighting system at the same time as commissioning a new CT scanner. “Experience shows that medical procedures such as CT scans can make some patients, and particularly children, feel quite anxious. The colored lighting effects in the room help create a more comforting atmosphere… We have found that it helps reduce anxiety levels.” If led high bay light for sale is calm and still during the scan, then the procedure is more likely to succeed. “Since using the new scanner with the new dynamic lighting effects, we have been able to increase the number of successful scans from 25 to about 38 per day,” said Browne.
AmbiScene can be used in retail environments, mixing lamps, luminaires, and LEDs to direct shoppers to parts of a store, but in healthcare it is used to create a comforting environment. The lighting can be changed in color, intensity, or tone by staff using a simple touchpad control system in the observation room (Fig. 1). Variable, colored lighting can meet the needs of a particular situation or be altered at a patient’s request.
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