Lighting the way

Lighting and health specialist D Shelley James explains how circadian lighting can provide a healthier workplace for staff and residents, while also cutting costs

There’s growing scientific evidence that offering a healthier and more comfortable workplace, including simple changes to the lighting and staff education, can make a big difference to wellbeing and performance, reduce errors, and even help you to cut your electricity bill, especially when compared to fluorescent lighting that still dominates the sector. At the same time, the right light at the right time can reduce falls, cognitive decline and agitation for residents living with dementia.

The light-dark cycle sets your body clock, which in turn drives every other system in your body and brain, from your mood and ability to focus to your weight and ability to manage pain. It can be hard for residential care teams to get the right light during their working hours and to switch off when they need to sleep, especially when they work shifts. Even those who are on duty during the day can struggle to get the bright light their bodies and brains need, leading to poor sleep and the mental and physical health issues that go along with that.

Practical lighting strategies have been developed and tested in Scandinavian countries and the East Coast of America, where the winters can be even darker and harsher than ours. These solutions, known as circadian lighting, use energy-efficient light sources and timed controls to mimic the natural cycle of bright days and dark nights. Although these solutions are more expensive than the basic static lighting we are familiar with, they can be a great investment especially set against the cost of staff turnover and the impact of a revolving door on residents and families who understandably place a high value on a personal connection, continuity and trust.

Daylight is the healthiest and most sustainable light source of all, of course. But for many care workers, it can be hard to get outside during their working day, especially during the winter months. Equally, while staff need to be alert during the night, residents need to sleep. These principles are being adopted by a growing number of successful healthcare providers here in the UK, including WCS Care, whose gold-level Investors in People accreditation demonstrates how its approach supports staff wellbeing alongside resident satisfaction. Its investment is helping it to recruit and keep the best people in a highly competitive sector.

The key is to engage with staff to help to understand the impact of light on health and wellbeing and share practical steps they can take for themselves.

The first step is to encourage everyone in the team to make sure they get enough bright light to set their body clocks, especially during the first part of their working day. Time outside or close to a window is ideal for those on the day shift – and can be the perfect opportunity to take residents outside to get a mood-boosting dose of the sunshine vitamin D too. Daylight is best, but during the winter months, or for those working night shifts, you can supplement natural light with energyefficient sources that deliver the specific qualities of light that the body clock needs to wake up and feel alert. It’s surprising to realise that bright light during the day can help us to get a good night’s sleep too.

Creating a soft, warm ambience at the end of the working day is key to helping staff and residents to wind down for rest. Darkness for sleep is equally important: the equivalent of a bedside lamp has been shown to reduce the quality and quantity of sleep, which in turn chips away at our natural ability to heal, manage pain and recover from stress. Acoustic monitoring is one proven technique that allows care teams to keep an eye on residents during the night without needing to enter their rooms and wake them up by switching on the light. Investing in black-out blinds or curtains and eye masks for staff can pay dividends as it could make a world of difference to their ability to get the restorative sleep they need to be their best.

Please join Dr Shelley to discover the latest research and learn practical tips on the Technology Stage at the Care Managers Show on Friday 30 June.