Hey friends! Today, we’re going to talk about something that quietly shapes nearly every part of our lives but rarely gets the attention it deserves: light.
Whether you’re a productivity nerd like me, someone pushing your limits in the gym, or just looking for ways to improve your daily life, the type of light you’re exposed to can make all the difference. We often overlook the impact light has on our mood, our ability to focus, and even how well we sleep. But once you start paying attention to the light around you — whether it’s the warm glow of the morning sun or the harsh blue light from your phone at midnight — you’ll begin to notice how it can either supercharge your day or drag it down.
In this article, we’re diving into natural light vs. artificial light, and how each type affects us — from our emotional state and brain function to productivity, sports performance, recovery, and even sleep. Let’s explore the science behind how light works, and more importantly, how you can use it to your advantage in your everyday life. Ready? Let’s dive in.
Natural Light vs. Artificial Light: The Essentials and impact
First things first: what’s the difference between natural light and artificial light?
Natural light is sunlight, which includes a full spectrum of wavelengths that your body has evolved to respond to over millions of years. It’s the light we’ve been exposed to for most of human history — and as you’ll see, our bodies have learned to rely on it for a lot more than just being able to see.
Artificial light comes from anything man-made: your phone screen, fluorescent office lights, LED bulbs. It’s a more recent addition to our environment, and while it’s super convenient (especially when you’re grinding late into the night), it doesn’t always play nice with our biology.
Let’s look at how each type of light, the natural and artificial can affect you, starting with something we all care about — the impact on how we feel.
1. Emotional State and Mental Health
You’ve probably experienced this yourself: after spending a day outside in the sun, you just feel better. You’re more energized, your mood is up, and you’re ready to tackle whatever’s next. This isn’t a coincidence — natural light triggers the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate your mood and makes you feel good. It’s why sunny days are linked to higher happiness levels, and why some people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during the darker months when sunlight is scarce.
But when we spend too much time under artificial light, especially the cold, bluish light from screens or overhead fluorescents, our mood can take a hit. Research has shown that extended exposure to artificial light can actually increase stress levels, lead to eye strain, and even contribute to feelings of anxiety or depression. You know that tired, irritable feeling after spending hours in front of your laptop? Yeah, that’s your brain telling you it needs a break from all that artificial lighting.
What can you do? Maximize your exposure to natural light during the day — especially in the morning. Whether it’s getting outside for a quick walk or positioning your workspace near a window, even small tweaks can make a big difference in how you feel.
2. Awareness and Cognitive Performance
When it comes to how awake and focused you feel throughout the day, light plays a massive role. Natural light helps regulate our circadian rhythms, which are essentially your body’s internal clock. When you get exposed to sunlight in the morning, it tells your brain it’s time to wake up and be alert. The specific type of light that does this is blue light, which is naturally present in sunlight during the day.
This natural boost to your awareness is a huge productivity hack. In fact, research has shown that people who work in environments with more natural light tend to have better concentration, improved memory, and greater mental clarity. It’s like your brain performs better when it’s working with light that mimics what we’ve evolved under for millions of years.
Artificial light, especially at night, has the opposite effect. The blue light from your phone or laptop can confuse your brain into thinking it’s still daytime, which messes with your melatonin production. Melatonin is the hormone that helps you relax and prepare for sleep, and when it’s suppressed, you’re more likely to feel wired late into the night. This can lead to trouble falling asleep, a disrupted sleep cycle, and a groggy, unfocused morning after.
If you want to stay sharp throughout the day and wind down effectively at night, the key is to work with your natural rhythms. Get as much sunlight as possible during the day, and reduce exposure to artificial light — particularly blue light — in the evening. This small shift can make a world of difference in how focused, productive, and well-rested you feel.
3. Brain Function: The Science of Light on Your Mind
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of what light does to your brain. When exposed to natural light, your brain releases dopamine, another neurotransmitter that’s crucial for keeping you motivated, focused, and ready to take on challenges. Natural light helps regulate this brain chemistry, which means that when you’re spending more time in the sun, you’re giving your brain the optimal conditions to function at its best.
In contrast, long-term exposure to artificial light can affect your brain in ways that go beyond simple eye strain. Studies suggest that artificial lighting, especially in low or overly bright environments, can impair cognitive function over time. It can lead to slower reaction times, difficulty concentrating, and increased levels of stress. This is why, after a long day in a dimly lit office, your brain might feel fried — it hasn’t had the chance to recharge the way it would if you were exposed to more natural light.
What’s the takeaway here? If you want to give your brain a productivity boost, expose yourself to sunlight during the day. This is a simple and effective way to improve mental performance, enhance creativity, and just feel more motivated overall.
Where your light comes from makes a difference
Where we place our lights at home or work can make a big difference in how we feel and function. Let's break down the effects of light coming from above us versus at eye level or even lower.
Most of us are used to overhead lighting—it's what you find in most homes and offices. While it's great for lighting up a room evenly, it's not always the best for our eyes. Overhead lights can create harsh shadows and glare, which might make us tired because we have to squint and strain our eyes. But, if done right, like using softer, diffused light fixtures, it can mimic natural light and make our environments more comfortable.
Lighting that's at eye level, like desk lamps or standing lamps, tends to be softer on our eyes. It helps reduce glare and lets us control the light better, making reading or working on projects easier. This kind of lighting is also better for setting a relaxing mood in a room, which can help us wind down at night after a busy day.
Then there's low-level lighting, which you might think of as night lights or even candles. These are not just for decoration; they play a big role in helping us prepare for sleep. Low-level lighting doesn't disturb our sleep hormones as much, which helps us transition to bedtime smoother. Candles are especially good because they offer a warm, calming glow that can make any room feel cozy and peaceful.
A study in a school setting showed that when children were exposed to different types of lighting throughout the day, those who had more natural light and eye-level, warmer lights were more focused, happier, and less likely to be disruptive compared to those under typical harsh, overhead fluorescent lights. This suggests that not only the type but the placement of light can significantly impact our everyday life and mood.
Light and Productivity: Supercharging Your Workflow
If you’re like me and always looking for ways to optimize productivity, light is one of the most powerful (and underrated) tools you have at your disposal.
Natural Light and Productivity: A Clear Winner
Studies have shown that working in an environment with ample natural light can increase your productivity by up to 40%. That’s because natural light not only keeps you more alert, but it also helps reduce fatigue and boost energy levelsthroughout the day. Think of it as nature’s way of keeping you at your best, no matter what task is in front of you.
It’s not just about feeling more awake either. Natural light improves your mood and cognitive function, leading to better decision-making, problem-solving, and creativity. If you’ve ever noticed that your best ideas come when you’re walking outside or sitting near a sunlit window, that’s not a coincidence — your brain just works better in those conditions.
The Double-Edged Sword of Artificial Light
Artificial light can be helpful when you’re working late into the night or in spaces without access to windows. But it’s a double-edged sword. Bright, artificial lighting (like from LED bulbs) can keep you alert, but if it’s too harsh or prolonged, it can lead to eye strain, headaches, and even decreased focus over time.
So, what’s the ideal setup? During the day, try to work in a space that’s filled with natural light. If that’s not an option, supplement with warm-toned artificial lighting, which is less likely to cause strain than the harsh, bluish lights you often see in office buildings. And if you’re working at night, use softer, warm lighting that doesn’t mess with your body’s preparation for sleep.
Light and Sports: Performance and Recovery
Of course, I couldn’t write an article without diving into how light affects your sports performance and recovery — because trust me, this is a game-changer.
Performance Under Natural vs. Artificial Light
If you’ve ever played a sport outside on a sunny day, you probably felt like you had more energy, more focus, and a faster reaction time. That’s because natural light not only wakes up your brain, but it also regulates your body’s internal clock in a way that aligns with your energy levels throughout the day. Studies show that athletes tend to perform better in natural light conditions, with faster response times and greater endurance.
On the other hand, playing or training under artificial light (like those bright gym lights or stadium floodlights) can affect your depth perception, reaction speed, and even your coordination. The artificial flicker of certain types of lights can mess with your visual processing, making it harder to judge distances and react quickly. That’s not to say you can’t train indoors, but if you have the option to get outside and train in natural light, you’ll likely notice a difference in how sharp and responsive you feel.
Recovery and Natural Light
After a tough workout, your body needs time to recover, and sunlight plays a surprisingly important role in that process. Natural light helps your body produce Vitamin D, which is essential for muscle repair, bone health, and overall immune function. Sunlight can also reduce inflammation and help speed up recovery times, leaving you feeling stronger and ready for your next session.
Artificial light, on the other hand, doesn’t provide those same recovery benefits. In fact, training or recovering under harsh lighting conditions can leave you feeling more drained than refreshed, especially if you’re not getting enough exposure to sunlight during the day.
Light and Sleep: The Secret to Better Rest
Finally, let’s talk about sleep — arguably the most important factor for health, recovery, and mental clarity.
How Natural Light Improves Sleep
Exposure to natural light during the day, especially in the morning, helps regulate your circadian rhythm — your body’s internal clock that governs your sleep-wake cycle. Morning sunlight helps trigger cortisol, a hormone that makes you feel alert and awake, and later in the evening, it allows melatonin to rise naturally, helping you fall asleep faster and get deeper, more restful sleep.
How Artificial Light Disrupts Sleep
In contrast, artificial light, especially the blue light from screens, suppresses melatonin and can delay your ability to fall asleep. If you’re scrolling through your phone right before bed, your brain thinks it’s still daytime, making it harder to wind down. Over time, this can lead to poor sleep quality, insomnia, and all the issues that come with being sleep-deprived — low energy, irritability, and reduced focus.
For better sleep, make it a point to reduce screen time at least an hour before bed and opt for warm lighting in the evening to help signal to your brain that it’s time to relax.
The Role of Candles and Low-Level Light
In our fast-paced world, winding down at the end of the day can be a challenge. Candles and other forms of low-level lighting can play a vital role in easing the transition to sleep, impacting our overall well-being. They are more than just decorative. Their gentle, flickering light creates a serene atmosphere that can help reduce stress and increase a sense of peace. This type of lighting emits very little blue light, which is known to disrupt sleep hormones. Instead, the warm glow helps stimulate the production of melatonin, the hormone that promotes sleep, making it easier to fall asleep and enjoy deeper sleep.
Low-level lighting isn't just beneficial at night. When used correctly during the day, it can provide a comforting environment that lessens eye strain and headaches, often caused by harsh artificial lights. For those who spend long hours at a computer or under bright office lights, incorporating softer, eye-level lighting can make a significant difference in daily comfort and energy levels.
A notable study involved a group of adults who replaced their evening exposure to bright lights with candles and soft lamps. Over several weeks, participants reported not only faster sleep onset but also improved sleep quality. This change demonstrates the potential health benefits of adjusting our evening light exposure to more natural and soft sources.
By understanding the role of candles and low-level lighting, we can make more informed choices about our home and workplace environments to enhance relaxation and sleep quality.
Conclusion
Light is one of those things we take for granted, but once you understand its power, you can start using it to your advantage in every part of your life. Whether it’s improving your mood, productivity, performance, or sleep, simply being more mindful of the light around you can have a huge impact on your well-being.
So, here’s the game plan:
Get outside and soak up as much natural light as you can during the day — especially in the morning.
When working indoors, try to position yourself near a window or invest in good-quality ambient lighting to avoid the harsh effects of artificial light.
Reduce your exposure to blue light in the evening to protect your sleep and help your body wind down naturally.
By making these simple adjustments, you’ll find yourself feeling more energized, focused, and in tune with your body’s natural rhythms.
Some Candles To Consider
Studies
Here's a simplified bullet list of some studies and their sources, along with the year they were conducted, if you want to dive a bit deeper into the research:
University of Colorado Boulder Study on Natural Light and Sleep: Researchers found significant differences in melatonin levels between campers and urban dwellers (2013).
Harvard University Study on Blue Light: Research highlights the impact of blue light on melatonin suppression and sleep disruption (2012).
Office Worker Lighting Study: Analysis of full-spectrum lights versus standard fluorescent lights on productivity and sleep quality (2015).
California Energy Commission Tennis Players Study: Study showing the impact of natural light on mood and concentration in athletes (2014).
Football Team Natural Light Transformation Study: A football team’s performance improvement and injury reduction after increasing exposure to natural light (2017).
Evening Light Exposure Study with Candles: Study on adults changing their evening light to candles and soft lamps showing benefits for sleep onset and quality (2016).
APOLLO SPORTS SOCIETY
At Apollo Sports Society, we believe that a healthy lifestyle begins with the right mindset and tools. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or just starting out on your fitness journey, our strength training programs and workout plans can help you achieve your goals.
And to support your fitness journey, we also offer a range of high-quality fitness clothing and workout clothes, designed to help you look and feel your best while you train. Our clothing is not only stylish, but also functional, featuring breathable fabrics and supportive designs that can help you perform at your best.
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