Whatever the reason you’re looking for ways to improve your mood naturally, we get it. Winter is hard and takes a toll on our body and mind. We live in an age where we are finally recognizing the many factors that affect our moods positively and negatively, every day. For most of us, even during the best times of our lives, we get down in the dumps every once in a while. If you’re having a blue day, week, or year, here are some tips to improve your mood naturally, to get you back to feeling like your best and brightest self.

#1: Boost Your Vitamin C & D Intake

Food has the ability to bring us such pleasure, comfort, and joy. Generally, healthy foods do the best job of consistently improving our mood naturally because they keep us feeling energized, light, and not feeling guilty. However, focusing on foods with certain vitamins can make a real difference. Studies have found that increased consumption of Vitamin C and Vitamin D increase moods naturally and decrease psychological distress .

Foods that are high in Vitamin C include lemons, papaya, strawberries, yellow bell peppers, guava, thyme, oranges, parsley, kale, kiwi, broccoli, brussel sprouts and more!

Foods high in Vitamin D are fatty fish like tuna, mackerel & salmon, egg yolks, cheese, oysters, mushrooms. shrimp, orange juice, and others!

#2: Bask In the Sunshine

Now that spring is starting, this one is becoming a bit easier. Days are longer and brighter and we should all be spending more time outside. Getting plenty of sunshine on your skin is a really simple and wonderful way to boost your mood naturally. Remember that the earlier in the day that you can take advantage of sunlight, the better. Bright light first thing in the morning helps set your circadian rhythm on track to keep you awake and alert all day. Open your blinds wide and wake up naturally with the sun. Sunlight is said to increase serotonin levels and also helps your skin produce vitamin D, which most people are deficient in, an issue that has been correlated with depression.

If you really can’t swing 15 min of sunlight a day, consider supplementing with alternatives. Vitamin D supplements will help you reach your daily dose, along with compact fluorescent lightbulbs to literally brighten your day. These lights mimic sunlight more effectively than incandescents and work well in high traffic areas of your home like the kitchen and living spaces.

#3: Find a Furry Friend

We’re not suggesting you should buy a pet just to lift your mood every now and again. However, as little as 25 minutes of petting a dog or cat can release more of that stuff we love to talk about… serotonin. But unlike other natural remedies, it produces many mood-boosting hormones like prolactin and oxytocin which helps to lower the stress hormone cortisol!

If you aren’t keen on the responsibilities of having a pet, consider visiting with a friend who is. Take their dog for a walk, or sit inside and have a drink cozied up next to their fur baby. Or take a trip to the local animal shelter where you can volunteer or just visit with the animals.

#4: Take a Walk (Run, Lift, Climb, or Skip)

You’ve probably heard it before, but exercise can improve symptoms of depression over time as well as improve your mood in the short term. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to improve your mood naturally because it’s positive effects can last up to 12 hours! Plus, it’s great for your physical health as well! If you haven’t experienced those famous feel-good endorphins from a killer workout, you will love this quick fix mood booster. It’s just a matter of making yourself do it.

If running isn’t your thing, try a different form of exercise. Even a brisk walk is great for your mental health (especially if you go outside). But maybe try branching out to something new. Ever tried rock climbing? Kickboxing? Barre, aerial yoga, Krav Maga… the options are endless. Anything that you can do for 30 minutes straight and helps you break a sweat during at least one section of vigorous activity will do the trick.

#5: Improve Your Day-to-Day Lighting

We talked earlier about your circadian rhythm. Lighting affects your alertness throughout the day as it tells your body when it should be tired and when it should work at full speed. Because of this, it’s important that the lights you encounter daily are optimized to keep your circadian rhythm from becoming confused. Lighting is an easy way to improve your mood naturally, as well as improve other areas of your life like efficiency at work, relaxation at the end of the day, productivity around the house, etc.

Use bright lights and light colored paint to brighten up areas that you spend a lot of time in. Add dimmers to your lighting so that at the end of the day you can still wind down. Set your lights on a timer that allow you to keep a consistent schedule or change it up when necessary. This will keep your body from becoming confused and allow you to make the most out of the lights around your home.

There is also a lot of discussion on what type of lighting should be used in offices as a way to create the most positive and productive work environment. Optimizing your work lighting minimizes the risk of migraines from strained eyes and increases employee satisfaction. Try maximizing healthy blue lighting during the day to improve efficiency, but minimize it at night so it doesn’t keep you from sleeping.

Surprisingly to many people, lighting has been found to contribute to cases of depression when insufficient. On the contrary, effective lighting can improve moods and energy levels naturally. High-quality flexible lighting can allow you to work with your changing schedule to improve your mood in different areas of your life.

The more we look into the effects of lighting on our everyday activities, the more we are realizing its deep impact on our lives. Biological, mental, and emotional effects are felt from the lighting or lack thereof that we surround ourselves with regularly. For this reason, it’s crucial that we take time to optimize the healthy lighting in our lives when looking to improve our mood naturally. Look to a professional to help you find the lighting solutions that are right for you and your family. At Hobrecht Lighting, we are excited to show you how lighting can genuinely improve your mood, mental and physical health, and daily efficiency.

About Us:

We operate under the Danish Hygge philosophy of maximizing coziness and joy in our lives, by improving home lighting. With simple lighting solutions that many people would never think of, we can bring positive energy into every corner of your home, simplify your daily activities, and improve the health and happiness of your family.

Lighting is just as important as the time and effort you put into the rest of your home. At Hobrecht Lighting, we take the time to help you optimize your lighting for your specific needs.

Start Your Healthy Lighting Journey Today!

Picture this: you finally found your dream light fixture. In fact, it’s getting so much attention that your guests aren’t even noticing your expensive Persian rug! After a few months, however, you pause your spring cleaning and notice that your alluring fixture is FILTHY! Here are a few tips to get that fixture sparkling like new.

1. Be Safe

First, turn off power to the fixture to avoid any risk of shock. If you need a ladder, secure all four feet on a level surface before ascending. In addition, move the ladder as you work instead of stretching to clean beyond your reach. Never twist or spin your fixture as it may loosen the support. 

2. Avoid Chemicals on Metal

Chemicals damage the lacquer coating on fixtures, so grab a microfiber/soft cloth and mild detergent soap. Wipe the metal parts of the fixture with the cloth without scrubbing or being too abrasive. Again, do not use an all-purpose cleaner or anything that contains ammonia or alcohol, or you’ll damage the appearance of your fixture.

3. Use Glass-Specific Products

Truly clean glass can be hard to achieve, but there are plenty of great products to help. For example, one favorite at Hobrecht Lighting is pre-moistened, ammonia-free glass cleaning wipes. If possible, remove the glass from the fixture and wipe it clean. If not, just wipe the glass as-is. Remember to avoid spraying cleaner on the fixture to ensure that chemicals do not touch the metal.

4. Try the Vacuum

If your fixture has a fabric or beaded shade, don’t be afraid to use the vacuum! We like to use a hose attachment to reach up high and vacuum the shade clean. If your delicate fixture has a more serious stain, we recommend professional dry cleaning (and yes, that does exist for light fixtures)!

5. Don’t Forget the Bulbs

The most oft-neglected step for a sparkling fixture is a clean light bulb! After cleaning the rest of the fixture, unscrew each bulb and gently wipe it clean. Your microfiber cloth and gentle cleaner will work wonders here! This ensures that you get the full light output that your bulb has to offer.

6. If Possible, Dust Regularly

Give yourself a pat on the back! Now that you’ve deep-cleaned your fixture, it’ll be much easier to maintain. We highly recommend weekly dusting, though we realize that it’s not everyone’s favorite chore. However, with an extendable-arm duster, it’s much easier to reach those high hanging fixtures and give a quick dust in even the most awkward spots. 
Finding the right fit for your style, space, and taste can be challenging, but you nailed it. With a few expert cleaning tips, you can keep it sparkling all year long. If you have any questions about cleaning your unique fixture, reach out to us online or give us a call. We’re here for all your lighting needs!

Let’s face it. Life is hard and sometimes it can bring us down. Work, family, and other responsibilities are all factors that affect our mood. But what are the best ways to improve your mood? Although feeling sad is a common and should not make you feel any shame—feeling this way is but a small part of life—it should not dictate how we feel every day. Luckily, there’s an easy and little-known trick to help boost your mood without harsh prescriptions. And it all has to do with something you use every day:lighting. How we choose to use (or not use) lighting surprisingly has a big effect on how we feel inside. 

“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” ― Helen Keller

How does it work? It’s simple.

The Secret to a Better Mood is Easier Than You Think

Lighting is responsible for modulating our body’s circadian rhythm (also known as our body clock). When we’re in brighter environments, our bodies see it as a sign to stay awake and be active. Likewise, dim and poorly lit environments are a signal to our body to rest. The light our body is exposed to actually changes the chemical response inside – hence the link between lighting and our mood. 

An article in ArchDaily explains this effect as it relates to our mood as well: brighter lights give us a mood boost and poor lighting contributes to deficiencies and can even cause depression.

So, how do you pick the right types of light to boost your mood?

One Light, Two Light, Red Light, Blue Light

Get this: it’s not just about the brightness of the bulbs or the number of bulbs there are in the room. The color of our environment also plays a huge role in determining how we feel. In fact, it may even be the most important part of lighting as it affects our mood. While some people choose to repaint their walls to see this effect, changing out your light bulbs is a much easier solution.

The goal of artificial light is to mimic the pattern of the sun. In the morning, bluish-white lighting can help the body transition into the day as the sun begins to rise. During the day, bright lights positioned directly overhead help keep you alert and productive. And at night, warmer bulbs offer the best color light for sleeping as they make us feel cozy and help us tune into “sleep mode”. Again, the idea is to use colors that mimic the sun’s natural light and position in the sky at different times throughout the day. For example, wall lighting such as sconces are great during the morning and evening as they mimic a sunrise and sunset. 

Find great wall lighting options here

GearBrain mentions a Harvard study that clarifies how this works: blue light wavelengths keep us awake by causing our body to suppress melatonin. In contrast, an increase in the melatonin hormone means it’s time to sleep. So using low blue light bulbs in the bedroom, in and around bedtime, is key to winding down effectively before attempting to sleep.

During the day, bright whiter overhead lights are the key. In spaces where people are interacting throughout the day, ensuring these spaces are well lit, with the appropriate amount of light will ensure your body is producing the positive chemicals that will naturally lift your mood. Look for low blue light bulbs that have a CRI around 90, 4000-5000 Kelvin, and are full spectrum. Then ensure your room has enough light. Here is a quick formula to help you determine how much light is needed in a particular room.

For the average living space of 250 square feet, you’ll need roughly a total of 5,000 lumens as your primary light source (20 lumens x 250 square feet). In kitchen and dining room, you generally more light, so try to achieve 30-40 lumens per square foot. Each bulb or light will have a lumen rating, simply add them all up to be sure you have enough general lighting to feel your very best.

Better Lighting, Better Sleep, Better Mood

You already know that your quality of sleep affects your mood the next day. It’s why we tell kids to take a nap when they’re starting to get grouchy. So, if lighting affects how well you sleep, it makes sense that it would also be one of the best ways to improve your mood, right?

But it’s not that easy.

You’ve changed all your bulbs and you’re using only warm lighting, controlled with a dimmer switch before bed, but you’re still having trouble sleeping.

Now what?

It may not be the types of light from your walls and ceilings that are keeping you awake at night. Blue light from cell phones and other electronic devices can also suppress melatonin and affect our circadian rhythm. Here’s a tip: Disconnect long before you plan to sleep and use a book to wind down instead. While you’re reading, use the warm light from a bedside lamp to keep your body clock in order.

Make your evenings more stylish (and comfortable) with a decorative table lamp

Stay Focused with Task Lighting

When you’re feeling down, it can be hard to focus on specific tasks. With the right focus lights, you can stay focused and in a better mood all day long. Working with natural light may be sufficient in the morning or afternoon, but when focusing on a specific task, bright, direct lighting is needed. For all-day focus lighting, use an adjustable wall or floor lamp to shed bright light on your work.

Find lamps to fit your style here

Although we cannot control the natural light in our environment, using artificial lighting can help make up for what is lacking. Take advantage of the light around you and begin incorporating its patterns into your life. You’ll see a boost in your mood in both the short and long term!

Contact us to learn more about what lighting can do for you!

Are you tired of the bedtime battle? You know, the daily conflict that occurs between you and your children to get them to sleep? Perhaps your child is anti-bedtime and creates a skirmish to get to the bedroom, but then deals ok with it. Or, maybe your child is the type to leave their bed several times to tell you they can’t sleep, before wearing themselves out and finally catching zzz’s a few hours later? No matter what you and your child’s bedtime struggle looks like, there are some scientific studies that show why bedtime can be difficult for kids. While you may not realize it, one primary factor is melatonin production, which can be thrown off by the type and tone of lighting in the home. Specifically, the light around and in the child’s bedroom, and how much blue light (emanating from technology), is taken in just before bedtime. Blue light can be found in high amounts from technology screens as well as ordinary light bulbs of lower quality. 

One of the biggest factors affecting a child’s bedtime routine? Light.

Studies show that the more blue light a child is susceptible to, the harder the body has to work to produce melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep. According to a New York Times article, the general consensus is that “Children’s eyes let in more light than adults’ eyes do.” If the blue light radiating off of our technological devices affects adults so much, that only means that children are that much more affected the same light. So, those bedtime videos, games and stories that may come from a phone, tablet, or TV, all are stunting melatonin production in the child, resulting in a more difficult bedtime transition. 

In the study that the NY Times cited, it showed that the average beginning of the child’s biological night (when melatonin secretion began) was approximately 7:47 P.M  with the average bedtime being about 8:27 P.M. This scenario occurred when the children were exposed to a living situation of being in a dim-lit “cave” of sorts, where no bright light interfered with the beginning of their biological night. However, they alternatively studied how light exposure suppressed melatonin production and found that the rate suppressed production by 90%, with the effects lingering long after the children retired into a dim-lit space. 

What does that mean? It means that blue light exposure before bedtime should be restricted, and that will result in a more seamless transition from day to night. Nowadays, you can go into your phone settings and set “night mode”, which will change the screen light from a harsh blue to a warm yellow at a time that you choose. If technology is a big part of your bedtime routine, this solution may behoove you,  but you might find it more beneficial to eliminate all exposure to blue light within an hour of bedtime.

Turning the Sleep Space into a Dark Cave

So, you’re interested in the idea of a “dark cave” to help with the bedtime battle, but you don’t want to rewire or renovate in an expensive way. We’re here to tell you that this doesn’t have to be a big budget blow. After researching the best color light for sleep, results show that warm LED lights take the cake. If you think about it (and think about the color wheel) warm tones (red, orange, yellow) are the direct opposite of cooler colors (green, blue, purple) so naturally, you’d think warm light would act inversely to cool light. The authors of a Life Hack article suggest that in the evening, a switch should be made from bright, abrasive overhead lights in favor of table lamps, or smaller sconces would held  to maintain a proper circadian rhythm. Typically, these smaller light sources are accompanied by warmer bulbs (under 3000k), which is the crux of the matter. Warm light more closely mimics the setting sun and is gentler on the eyes (and better for the melatonin production) and encourages a smooth transition from being awake to falling asleep. Keeping these warmer, eye level light sources on around the home after sunset can yield a simpler, smoother transition, especially for children, from day to night. 

A supplementary behavior that will take time to adjust would be down a similar vein to restricting blue-light technology would be to adjust the amount of direct light on the child’s eyes. Illuminated technology (e-readers, tablets, phones, televisions, computers) could and should be used indirectly in relation to a child at nighttime (say, the parent reads off of the tablet while the child lays tucked in, or audio is played without video). This reduces the direct blue light shining into the eyes of a child, and will, therefore, reduce the suffocation of melatonin production.  Using book lights or table lamps to light an activity (say, reading an old-fashioned bedtime story) indirectly lights the source of activity, so there is less strain on the child’s eyes. To reiterate, the best color light to promote sleep is any variant of warm light, perhaps yellow or amber light. 

A third option would be installing dimmer switches around the house so that you can control when the lights go from high to low. If you have these switches around the house, you can ensure that even the overhead lights go from bold and bright to soft and low consistently across your house. It saves the necessity to purchase additional table lamps or installing hallway sconces if you’d rather have a holistic household solution. 

Quick Tips for Lighting a House to Promote Sleep

So, maybe your child is afraid of the dark. We all know we had our bouts of fear for monsters in the bed or in the closet, waiting for the parents to slink away and for the lights to go off. There’s no discounting a child’s fear here. Instead, we propose simple solutions to combat that with night lights. The quick tip here is to ensure that bedtime lights are kept low in location and low in brightness. If they’re out of the direct line of sight of the child, they won’t harm the melatonin production and general sleep cycle of the child, and the light provides that safety blanket from the scaries lurking in the dark. Keep in mind what we’ve explored about light temperature, and seek out night lights that contain (or can be mounted with) warmer light bulbs rather than cool bulbs (many can be found marked as low blue light bulbs). 

Shop Warm Light Bulbs

We Have the Products to make Bedtime a Breeze

The fact of the matter is that light affects sleep and that children’s eyes are more susceptible to light, which makes their nighttime transition bumpier. Luckily, light is something you can control, for the most part. You can buy blackout shades, change out light bulbs, opt for the best color light to promote sleep, enhance melatonin production with warm LED lights, and set an off-time for electronics. Whatever you choose to do, Hobrecht Lighting can help you control your homes’ light. Making small changes like the ones mentioned earlier can be the first step toward putting your kids to bed (and getting them to fall asleep) with no hiccups. 

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Have you ever noticed how certain lights make things look different? Take a hair salon, for example. The stylist dyes your hair and it looks great in the salon, but when you go outside, it’s a completely different color! That isn’t bad styling— but it might be caused by bad lighting. Here’s an in-depth review of the Color Rendering Index and how it might affect your business.

Visible Color and Light Color: The Basics

You may remember this from school-age science classes, but what we perceive as white light is actually all the visible colors of light mixed together. Natural light sources, like the sun, produce all these colors, as shown through any prism, while artificial light sources often emit only a few colors. The color we perceive in objects depends on the colors absorbed and reflected by the object, so objects unable to absorb the usual spectrum of light will appear a different color than usual.

Keeping Track of Color: The Color Rendering Index

The Color Rendering Index is a measurement of light’s effect on colors. It measures how many of the usual colors emitted by white light are emitted by a given light source. Light sources that are very similar to full-spectrum natural light have a high CRI rating, up to 100. Lights that lack certain colors and aren’t full-spectrum have a low CRI rating, somewhere below 70.

How CRI Affects Business

Having high CRI lights in your place of business can be extremely important, especially when perception and image is at stake. Businesses such as hair or nail salons, art galleries, car dealerships, and photography studios must be especially careful to install high CRI lights. If a customer invests in a product, hair color, car, or anything else color-dependent, only to find out that it isn’t what they originally saw… That unhappy customer poses a risk to your reputation and future business. 

Low CRI lights aren’t defective or universally undesirable, but they do have specific uses. You may see low CRI lights in street lamps, light posts, or stadium lights.

Another Note: Color Rendering Index vs Kelvin Scale

Because color and light have a huge impact on our perceptions and opinions, CRI isn’t the only way to rank a light’s quality. While the CRI measures how a light affects an object’s color, the Kelvin scale measures the color of the light itself, providing the correlated color temperature (CCT) of the light source. Oftentimes CCT and CRI get confused with one another, but they’re just different measurements of light quality that are relevant to different situations.

Don’t Stress- Just Check the Package

Now that we’ve learned what CRI and CCT are, let’s imagine you’re picking out a lightbulb. Each package should tell you the CRI and CCT ratings for the bulb, and you may see some common trends. Typically, high CRI lights are also fairly high in CCT. For example, a light bulb that emits light at 2700K (warm light) usually has a lower CRI (less true color) than that of a 4000K light bulb (blueish light) with a higher CRI (truer object color). This is not always the case, but it is common.

If you have doubts about selecting the right bulbs for your business, or any other questions, our lighting experts at Hobrecht Lighting are here to help. Reach out to us and we’ll make sure your business puts its best foot, and best color-quality lighting, forward!

We promise that we can show you a super-easy way to boost your productivity. Hang with us as we lay a little bit of background, but don’t worry. It’ll be worth it (an much easier than you think).

Sooo… have you ever heard of the Kelvin scale? Vaguely familiar? Blank? Well, not to worry…most of us retain don’t retain a lot from science classes, but believe it or not, it is an integral part of our daily experience. In fact, even a very basic understanding of the Kelvin scale, and applying it in your home lighting can improve your mood, productivity, and even long-term health. Yes! All from lighting. Read on for some applicable science and a few trivia-friendly facts from your friends here.

1. What It Is

Let’s start with the very basics. What is the Kelvin scale? Most used as a temperature measurement that ranges from absolute zero to the heat of the sun, Kelvin also measures the color temperature of light, both artificial and natural. Its applications are widespread, stretching from astrology to photography to biology.

There is plenty of in-depth science to explain how one scale can measure the temperature of celestial bodies and also classify light bulbs… But for now, let’s just keep it super simple to understand the basic concept. Just imagine an experiment where a metal is subjected to various levels of heat.

Depending on the Kelvin temperature (amount of heat that it absorbs), the metal glows in colors such as amber, yellow or blue. So, a certain temperature of heated metal = certain color of light emitted. So even though light bulbs don’t usually function at those exact temperatures, we use Kelvin because it’s an exact way to classify the color of light emitted by different light sources. Kelvin then is the color of light…and as it turns out…it matters a lot.

2. Why It Matters

Moving on from the background science… Why worry about the Kelvin and color of light? First, check out the scale itself. (The higher the number, the cooler/bluer the light. The lower the number, the warmer/redder the light.) Color temperatures of the Kelvin scale range from 1,000K-10,000K.

• 1000K-1900K is candle light hue
• 2000K-2900K is a warm, yellowish white.
• 3000K-4500K is a cool white.
• 4600K-6500K is comparable to daylight.
• Above 6500K the light has increasingly more blue tones.
• 10,000K is the color of the blue sky.

Imagine if your home was lit only by candles, or if it was constantly filled with bright daylight. Because our bodies are programmed to react to different light temperatures in different ways, it makes a huge difference in your mood, energy, daily tasks, ambiance, ability to concentrate, and even your sleep. This is not to say that any one type of light is better than another—simply that the color temperature impacts us…. the functionality and atmosphere of our homes and workplaces.

Different light bulbs emit different colors. Not all light bulbs are created equal. And the color of light emitted by your light bulbs is making its impact right now, though it may go unnoticed. Excessively cool tones, insufficient quantity of light, or excessive artificial light before sleep can impact mood, productivity, and even increase chances of disease. Fortunately, your new knowledge of the Kelvin scale can help you fine tune your home lighting.

3. How to Use It

Thanks to a little help from science, you can use the Kelvin scale to choose lighting that maximizes your health and productivity at home. Consider your daily activities and form a home lighting plan that suits your family’s needs—which rooms are meant for productivity, and which for relaxing?

In residential lighting, the most common color temperatures that people use and prefer are 2700K to 3000K. Why? Warmer colors create an atmosphere of coziness, calm, and comfort. Consider warm lighting for your bedrooms, family room, and other rooms for social gathering. For an office, garage, or workspace, cool lighting can create a more clean, precise atmosphere to facilitate productivity.

As for the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry ad hobby rooms where you need most productive so it’s a good choice to mimic natural light around noon with warmer light around 3000-4000K.

Here is an easy rule to follow:

In areas where you need higher degrees of concentration and productivity, you need a higher Kelvin (up to 3500-4000k), where you need lower levels of concentration and productivity, use a lower Kelvin (1500k – 3000k).

Need advice? Feel free to discuss your ideas with one of our lighting experts. We’re here to help you build a home atmosphere that’s best for you.

Workspaces are optimized in many ways to ensure hard work and efficiency are taking place within them. However, one aspect that employers and workers alike often neglect, is the lighting in an office or working environment. It is actually quite simple to improve your focus at work by selecting the proper types of lighting for your specific space. Poor lighting can cause a strain on your eyes that you may not even notice day to day. However, insufficient lighting can cause issues like headaches, irritability, and visual fatigue, that affect your ability to concentrate on work and negatively affect productivity. There are a variety of simple solutions that can help you improve your focus at work and optimize efficiency without changing any other habits other than the lights surrounding you! Lighting color, distance, and position can all be adjusted to optimize focus based on your work atmosphere.

We have broken these tips into the 3 types of light you should be aware of in your work environment. When you are aware of these types of lights and the way they affect your productivity, you can optimize them to improve your focus at work. So let’s cut right to it!

3 Types of Light to Improve Your Focus at Work:

#1: Natural Light

Natural daylight is the best kind of light you can have during a workday or while trying to focus on a task. In an office or home, this often comes in the form of sufficient windows and skylights.

Color temperature is a great way to tell the difference between the appearance of light coming from different fixtures versus the outdoors. Color temperature is measured in Kelvin and ranges from warm white lights which are cozy and relaxing (2000-3000K), up to daylight which is cool, crisp, and energizing (4600-6500K). These higher color temperatures reach their peak naturally at around noon and actually have a larger impact on mental activity, alertness, and the central nervous system. This range of cooler light temperature 5000K+ is great for working because it is bright and invigorating without putting a strain on your eyes.

However, because most offices do not have proper natural lighting, and those that do find it hard to ensure this light is consistent throughout the year and at different times of the day, offices cannot rely solely on having impressive natural lighting. If you are hoping to improve your focus at work, take note or how much natural light you get and follow these tips to supplement with additional types throughout the day:

#2: Cool LED Lighting

When natural light is harder to come by, there are some lights better at mimicking its beneficial effects than others. Bright white LED light can improve your focus at work the same way that natural lighting can. Most obviously, artificial light is crucial in making vision more clear in a work environment where you’re switching from something that many be easier to see like a computer screen, to a plain, unlit piece of paper. However, choosing bright artificial lighting with cooler color temperatures can imposter natural light in a way that also keeps your circadian rhythm on track and ensures you are alert during the middle of the day when you need to perform at your best.

You see, the amount of blue light emitted from a fixture increases as the color temperature does. So when we talk about cooler light, we’re referring to lights that are 5000K+, also sometimes referred to as blue light. If you’ve heard of blue light as being negative, it’s likely because of its ability to keep you from sleeping at night. This is because your body is not meant to want to sleep in the middle of the day when the light outside is at this color temperature. While blue light isn’t good right before bed because it stimulates alertness and reduces drowsiness, that is exactly what makes it great for improving focus!

So how do you apply this to your workspace? To give your body the perception of daylight and keep your brain alert and high-functioning, we suggest choosing overhead lighting that is higher than 5000K. Your overhead lighting should also disperse light evenly throughout the space to ensure you’re not straining your eyes from switching for one brightness to another. If you have direct control over your lighting in say a home office, we suggest installing a light dimmer so that you can bring down the brightness when you are getting it from other sources (daylight or a computer screen).

This type of light is one that you are able to have more control over than the natural light you get in your workspace. However, often times in a work environment, you do not have complete control over the types of overhead lighting in your space. While there are many reasons for office spaces to switch to LED lighting, it’s often out of your hands. Therefore, once again, it’s important for you to take note of the balance of natural and overhead light you do have access to and learn how to make your own adjustments where you can, to improve your focus at work.

#3: Task Lighting

Finally, if you’ve found that the previously mentioned light sources are out of your control, task lighting is the kind that you can actually go to the store today and purchase to help improve concentration in your workspace. We’re talking, desk lamps, swing arm overhead spots, wall-mounted lights, under-cabinet lighting, table lamps, and even book lights. No matter what you’re working on, there’s a task light that can be tailored to your activity to ensure your lighting is doing as much to help you get the job done as possible.

Tips for task lighting include paying attention to where you are placing your fixture. You most often want your lighting to come from behind you without any visual disruptions from other things. Take into consideration if you are right or left handed so that your arm is not casting a shadow upon your work. If you are older you may want to look for a brighter lamp. However, if you work solely on a computer, a consistent low level light is better to not strain your eyes. Make sure your task lighting covers your entire workspace, again, so you are not switching from one brightness to another. LED task lights are great for this because they tend to have the most controlled beams of light.

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The perfect lighting balance can sometimes be hard to find on your own. Maybe you are unsure of how to apply this balance to your workspace when you can only control one type of lighting. Or maybe you’re more stressed about designing a new space from scratch, unsure of how to best optimize it to improve your focus and efficiency. Whatever your situation is, professionals at Hobrecht Lighting are more than happy to help. From suggesting different color temperatures for different home and office spaces, to customizing lighting solutions for every type of person, we care about far more than beautiful lighting. We care about how it works to improve your everyday life.

About Us

Based on the Danish concept of “hygge”, the idea that coziness and comfort lead to contentment and total well-being, we recognize the ways in which lighting can impact our everyday lives. Hobrecht Lighting creates lighting systems that noticeably improve safety and wellness in your home by improving sensory experiences, reducing visual strain, and enhancing visibility.

At Hobrecht Lighting, we utilize different colors, brightness levels and angles of lighting at different times of the day to mock the natural light cycle. Ultimately, we are excited to show you how this can make your space more welcoming, cozy, and joy-filled for you and your family.

Find the Perfect Lighting Solution for Your Home or Office