How To Maximize Your Vision Using Lighting

Studies have shown that the quality and type of lighting can have a significant impact on our health and comfort.
Poor lighting can accentuate existing vision problems and reading difficulties, it can cause depression and disrupt sleep cycles, by automatically adapting the lighting in a room to what people are doing, many of these psychological and physiological problems can be reduced.

Lighting takes on added importance for everyone as they grow older. Even normal healthy eyes generally require twice as much illumination at age 50 as they did at age 25. And for people with limited vision, lighting becomes an even more critical factor. It is important to control the intensity of light and the glare, as well as to provide contrast.
Below are some tips on how to use lighting to maximize vision:

1. Provide light throughout the room along with additional task lighting near the activity you are performing. While the area of activity should be bright, the entire room must also be well illuminated to eliminate shadows. One should not work in a pool of light surrounded by darkness.
2. Move lamps close to your work. To help avoid glare, use an adjustable lamp and position the lamp to the side, rather than directly in front of you. Many people find it helpful to have lamps on both the right and left sides; that will eliminate shadow.
3. When writing, to prevent shadows, place the lamps on the opposite side of the hand being used. Locate the bottom edge of the lampshade just below eye level.
4. To reduce glare, cover bare light bulbs of all types with shades soften bright light from windows with coverings like blinds or sheer curtains. Also, position the chair and table so you don't have to look directly at the light coming from the window.
5. To further reduce glare, cover or remove shiny surfaces such as floors and table tops. Shiny paper can increase glare, so try to use matte paper when reading or writing.
6. In hallways and stairways, provide generous amounts of light and position it so that it shines on the walls, floor, steps and railways.
7. Keep all room evenly lit. It is difficult for your eyes to adjust from bright light to low light, so if you keep all rooms well lit, it will be more comfortable to walk from room to room. Try not to walk from a brightly lit room immediately to a dark one.
8. If one eye is better and used for reading, position the lamp on that side of the body, slightly to the side. What you don't want is the light reflecting from the page into your eyes. To check this, turn the light off, place a mirror on the page being read, and see if the lamp appears in the mirror. If it does, re-position it. It should still be close to the page and to the side of your face, but now perhaps at a slight greatly angle.
9. Choose color-corrected fluorescent bulbs, such as natural white, which are safer than halogen bulbs due to fire risk. Fluorescent bulbs are cost-effective and energy efficient.
10. Watch television in a lighted room. It is easier on the eyes. Be sure, however, that the light isn't placed where it will cause glare or reflection off of the screen. This can be easily checked with the television screen dark.