Charlotte Roddick and colleagues have published new research in the Journal of Environmental Psychology on the effects of adding near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths to indoor lighting on health, mood, and cognition.
Charlotte’s research, conducted in collaboration with a large interdisciplinary team led by Dr. Lorne Whitehead from the UBC Sustainability Solutions Applied Physics Laboratory, found that incorporating NIR—a natural component of sunlight—into indoor lighting positively influences heart rate variability and mood. These findings suggest that balancing energy efficiency with NIR inclusion could enhance both health and productivity in indoor environments.
To learn more, see reporting on the study at LightNOW and Insight Lighting.
Read the full research article here.
Citation: Roddick, C. M., Wang, Y., Chen, F.S., Durmus, D., Royer, M.P., Veitch, J.A., Zhao, J., Seo, Y. S., Cao, W., & Whitehead, L.A. (2024). Effects of near-infrared radiation in ambient lighting on cognitive performance, emotion, and heart rate variability. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 100, 102484.