Importance of Lighting Levels as you Age

As one grows older, a lot of physiological changes occur in the body. One of the vital organs impacted most by this are the eyes. Hence visual impairments are inevitable with ageing. The steadiness of sight deteriorates drastically as compared to young age. Additionally, elders around 75 years need lighting levels almost twice as much as normal standards recommend or even more. So it is crucial to meet the needs of growing ageing population and number of patients with vision problems. Hence senior care facilities should have proper lighting for the elderly to ensure physical safety and well-being.

Adequate and comfortable lighting makes a huge difference to elders who face deteriorating vision problems. This is so as the amount of light reaching in the retina is lesser in elders than youngsters. Also, the eye lens which is normally clear in a young people tends to thicken and turn yellow with age. Further, there is a weakening of the muscles that control the pupil thereby making it more difficult to adapt from brightness to dark areas and vice versa. Besides, seniors are also likely to get affected by age-related eye diseases like

• Cataracts 
• Glaucoma 
• Macular degeneration 
• Diabetic retinopathy 
• Retinitis pigmentosa.

It is seen that poor lighting can cause anxiety in older adults as they cannot see what is ahead of them. This results in trips and falls causing physical injuries and related health hazards. Sensory lighting is particularly beneficial to patients with Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Stroke. This is because the brain’s ability to process visual signals is greatly diminished in such patients.

Lighting Tips for Senior Living Facilities

Senior living spaces must give extra attention to lighting aspects as it has a significant impact on their overall health and visual systems. Elderly care facilities including independent senior living homes and assisted living facilities are specifically designed to accommodate this.

Good lighting offers the following benefits for senior residents –

• Ensures physical safety and comfort
• Fosters better moods
• Aids better sleep
• Results in higher productivity
• Augments visual acuity

Important tips and facts for good lighting

• Include ambient lighting in areas of movement in and around the home like staircase and hallways. 
• Put bright task lights for doing important activities like reading instructions on a medicine box, preparing food safely and eating at the dining table. Also, task lighting must be adjustable for varying its intensity, location and direction.
• Use cooler lights such as halogen bulbs or cool fluorescent bulbs as it adds ability of the elder’s eyes in distinguishing colours better.
• Elders need lights with less contrast as their eyes adapt to changes in lighting levels gradually. 
• Indoor lighting must mimic nature’s patterns as it aids in better sleep patterns and good health. 
• Deploy light controls inaccessible areas wherever required for increasing safety and ease of use. Group controls may also be used for making multiple adjustments. Dimming controls may also be used to adjust the levels of lights based on the activity and time of day.
• Thanks to modern day technology, lighting automation may be done at senior homes for controlling multiple light sources with a single control.

Sensory Lighting for Dementia

Lighting systems for dementia patients must be calming, relaxing and stimulating. This gives their brains a fair chance to perform its interpretation reasonably to form a meaningful visual construct. Sensory lights provide visual simulation to these patients for interpreting and interacting using their sense of sight. It also elevates moods by the enchanting visual point of focus and creates a soothing environment.