Shine a Light

As the nights draw in it is worth thinking about how good our lighting is at home, especially if your eyesight has any weaknesses. Good indoor lighting helps relieve eyestrain and can reduce accidents (think about the dark carpets on the poorly lit stairs) as well as improve the feeling of security in the house.

Different rooms need different types of lighting requirements, depending on any natural light available and what the room is to be used for. But some things are always worth thinking about, individual controls and dimmers for lights to keep the lighting even around the room, and possibly additional spotlights and lamps around areas where specific tasks are performed, like a good reading lamp by your favourite chair to shine over your shoulder onto your book, and downlighters to help in food preparation areas.

Uplighters are good at giving a softer, more even illumination, good for removing distracting glare sources. Not putting bright light sources by the television is a good idea, especially if you have cataracts, as the glare problems make watching the television more difficult (moving the television away from the bright window will have the same benefit).

Full spectrum lighting is worth considering for those who spend a lot of time indoors, they are powerful white lights that compares well with natural daylight, this helps alleviate Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is linked with the serotonin levels falling due to lack of sunshine and natural day light

The perfect illumination should be even, glare free and bright enough for the work being done.