Student Success Includes Natural Lighting
Fluorescent Lights Can Negatively Impact the Learning Environment
There's no surprise that light, or lack of, affects a person's mood. Rainy days bring depressed feelings, and in winter, the “shorter” days brings on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of seasonal depression affecting millions of people worldwide. Sunshine provides natural lighting that costs nothing and makes people feel good.
Up until the 1950s schools were designed allowing maximum daylight. When electricity costs became lower, school windows became smaller. According to some research conducted over the years, the incidents of learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, headaches and other afflictions have coincided with the increased use of fluorescent lighting.
Daylight is Best
Some research indicates that the most critical physical characteristic of a classroom is the lighting. In a research paper entitled “Light up their lives”, by Dunn, Krimsky, Murray and Quinn found that visual environment affects a student's ability to perceive visual information and affects the overall mental attitude and academic performance.
The effects of poor lighting in schools has been studied for decades. In 1940, researchers Luckiesh and Moss studied this topic and published their results in Illuminating Engineering. They studied grade five and six students in well-lighted classrooms and in poorly-lighted classrooms. The students were given the New Stanford Achievement Test and those in the well-lighted classrooms had significant increases in their scores.
In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the Smith Middle School assisted The Lighting Research Center and Daylight Dividends in developing a case study that supports daylight, or natural light, in the learning environment. Their school opened in 2001 and relies on natural light as the main source of lighting. Teachers find that electrical fixtures are often not needed. In the case report, one teacher was quoted: “When I came to work at this school, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.”
Fluorescent Lighting
The Irlen Institute has conducted long-term clinical studies that conclude fluorescent lighting in schools may be related to many academic and health problems. Their studies coincide with a 2006 study by Capital E. They found that students in schools with natural light instead of fluorescent lighting had a 10% to 21% higher learning rate and higher test scores. A document prepared by the Irlen Institute reports that fluorescent lighting may trigger headaches, migraines and other physical symptoms.
In a 2002 Guardian News article, Micheale Wynn-Jones investigated fluorescent lighting in prisons. Wynn-Jones reported that fluorescent lighting was not intended for general use; it was meant only as a temporary, emergency form of lighting to keep factories in operation 24 hours a day during World War II.
The Irlen Institute believes that many children have been mislabeled with learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, reading problems and dyslexia all because of students having to work under fluorescent lights.
What to Do?
School councils and Parent Teacher Associations have influence with school administration and with school boards. Parents who have any concerns about lighting in their child's school can attend a school council (or PTA) meeting to urge the council to look into proper lighting for that school.
There are many companies that sell solar power systems that can light up the indoors naturally. Research what companies are in the area to help support local business and bring this information to the school council (PTA) as well as to the school administration.
Another option that's more immediate is talk to the classroom teacher. Many teachers close blinds or curtains during instructional time to block natural light.
Put some light on children's health and well-being, it may well be the answer.
Works Cited:
Helen L. Irlen, MA,LMFT. (2007) Irlen Institute International. Fluorescent Lighting Can Trigger ADD/HD, Dyslexia, and Poor Achievement. (California)
Gregory Kats.(2006) Capital E. Greening America's Schools. (Washington)
Daylight Dividends. (2004) The Lighting Research Center and Daylight Dividends. Daylight Dividends Case Study. (North Carolina)
Natural Lighting is Best for Students
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