Illuminating the Effects of Dynamic Lighting on Student Learning

Light is universally understood as essential to the human condition. Yet light quality varies substantially both in nature and in controlled environments leading to questions of which artificial light characteristics facilitate maximum learning. Recent research has examined lighting variables of color temperature, and illuminance for impacting sleep, mood, focus, motivation, concentration and work and school performance. This has resulted in artificial light systems intended to support human beings in their actualization through dynamic lighting technology allowing for different lighting conditions per task. Eighty-four third graders were exposed to either focus (6000K-100fc average maintained) or normal lighting. Focus lighting led to a higher percentage increase in oral reading fluency performance (36%) than did control lighting (17%). No lighting effects were found for motivation or concentration, possibly attributable to the younger age level of respondents as compared to European studies. These findings illuminate the need for further research on artificial light and learning. The Effects of Lighting on Humans in General The human evolution is shaped by light. In the course of evolution, human beings have adapted and developed an internal clock that under natural light conditions is synchronized to the earth’s 24-hour light-dark rotational cycle (Czeisler et al., 1999). Research reveals the mechanism for how light is essential for human functioning (Boyce, Hunter, & Howlett, 2003). Light is a strong enabler for visual performance (Grangaard, 1995), regulates a large variety of bodily processes such as sleep and alertness (Dijk et al., 1997; Wright et al., 2006; Takasu et al., 2006; Viola et al., 2008), is essential for cognition and mood (Veitch & McColl, 2001; Goven et al., 2011; Taras, 2005), enables production of important hormones such as melatonin and cortisol (Berson, 2002; dijk et al., 1997; Leproult et al., 2001), and is essential for a healthy rest-activity pattern (Wurtman, 1975). Lights of different wavelengths also affect blood pressure, pulse, respiration rates, brain activity, and biorhythms. The role of lighting in our daily lives is essential in order to operate ideally in every environment. Thus, lighting directly influences every dimension of human existence. Tanner reiterated: “Light is the most important environmental input, after food and water, in controlling bodily functions (as cited in Wurtman, 1975). Since the industrial revolution, people spend more and more time indoors while artificial lighting has shown the power to at least partially compensate for the processes that stabilize the body, mind, and emotions (Knez, 1995; Tanner, 2008, van Someren et al.,2005; Takasu et al., 2006; Mishima et al., 2001; Viola et al., 2008). In the following we elaborate a bit more on the proven effects artificial light has on human functioning. Circadian rhythm Sleep is one of the most basic physical requirements for human functioning. Amount and quality of lighting invariably affects the degree and quality of sleep in humans and regulates our biological clocks. In 2002, Berson et al. (2002) identified a new non-image forming photo-pigment residing within a cell type in the retina of the eye. It is referred to as melanopsin and regulates the biological effects of light. When ocular light (light perceived by the eyes) reaches these cells, a complex chemical reaction occurs, producing electrical impulses that are sent via separate nerve pathways to our biological clock, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). The SCN in turn regulates the circadian (daily) and circannual (seasonal) rhythms of a large variety of bodily processes, such as sleep, and some important hormones, such as melatonin and cortisol, essential for a healthy rest-activity pattern. The system that generates the circadian rhythmicity of biological processes is denoted as the circadian system. The melanopsin pigment is most sensitive to blue light with a peak sensitivity at 480 nm (Brainard et al., 2001; Thapan et al., 2001; Hankins et al., 2008). Sleep consolidation is optimal when sleep timing coincides with the period of melatonin secretion (Dijk et al., 1997). People that sleep during their melatonin peak (as in normal, i.e., well-synchronized, people), are reported to have a longer total sleep time and less wakefulness after sleep onset as compared with people that schedule their wakefulness during the melatonin peak (non-synchronized people) (Wright et al., 2006). Moreover, the same study indicates that cognitive performance (i.e., learning) was better in a synchronized group of people, whereas learning was impaired in a non-synchronized group of people. This indicates that proper alignment between sleep-wakefulness and biological (internal circadian) time is crucial, not only for sleep quality, but also for enhancement of cognitive performance.  The most obvious effect of light on humans is to enable vision and performance of visual tasks through the eyes. The eye contains “photoreceptor cells” called rods and cones. These photoreceptor cells regulate the visual effects. When light reaches these cells, a complex chemical reaction occurs. The chemical that is formed creates electrical impulses in the nerve that connects the photoreceptor cells to the visual cortex at the back of the brain. In the visual cortex the electrical impulses are interpreted as “vision”. Rod cells “operate in low-level light situations and do not permit color vision.” Cone cells on the other hand, operate best in “normal daytime lighting conditions,” and are “responsible for sharpness, detail, and color vision.” Studies show that the nature of the task – as well as the amount, spectrum, and distribution of the light – determines the level of performance that is achieved. Mood and Cognition Lighting plays an important role in evoking emotions. Lighting can be used to make an architectural space more aesthetically pleasing or it can create an atmosphere in that space; both affect people’s emotions. In addition, the user’s well-being can be directly influenced by light. Brightness, color, direction, contrast and time are parameters used to create lighting conditions that address this. Nevertheless, concerning the relationship between lighting and mood/cognition, research has not shown consistent results. In a study by Knez (1995), two experiments were performed in order to analyze the effects of color temperature and illuminance levels on mood and cognitive performance tasks including long-term recall, free recall, and performance appraisal between males and females. After each experiment, a test to measure each subject’s mood was administered. The results showed that females performed better in warm white lighting environments, whereas males performed better on cognitive tasks in cool white lighting. Both males and females perceived and responded differently in evaluating the illuminance levels and color index of the lighting and therefore each gender’s mood was affected differently. Positive mood measures showed no increase in mood in both genders; however, the cooler lighting had a more negative effect on females’ moods. Thus, females’ performance on cognitive tasks decreased under cooler lighting. Because physiological changes occur when humans are exposed to light, mood and cognition can be affected indirectly and variably. According to Veitch and McColl (2001), lighting’s cognitive and mood-related effects on people have noteworthy implications: 1) better performance on cognitive related tasks in the workplace or academic environment and 2) overall improved quality of life and well-being. Both visual perception strength and adequate sleep could have a considerable impact on cognitive abilities such as concentration and memory. Mood may also determine the sharpness of these cognitive abilities. Mood can be influenced by the quality and amount of lighting (Partonen et al., 2002; Veitch & McColl, 2001; inter alia Beauchemin & Hays, 1996; Benedetti et al., 2001; Goven, 2011). For instance, light therapy has proven a successful treatment for those with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and other non-seasonal mood related disorders such as depression and eating disorders (Spiegel et al., 2004; Van Cauter et al., 2000; McColl & Veitch, 2001). Effects for Lighting and Learning Because lighting profoundly impacts numerous levels of human functioning such as vision, circadian rhythms, mood, and cognition, its implicit effects on learning and classroom achievement cannot be dismissed. Several studies have addressed how the quality and color of lighting can either impair or enhance students’ visual skills and thus, academic performance. Visual impairments alone can induce behavioral problems in students as well as level of concentration and motivation in the classroom. Cheatum and Hammond (2000) estimated that around 20% of children that enter the school encounter visual problems (e.g., problems with focusing, eye tracking, training, lazy eye, and trabismus). Among elementary school children, 41% have experienced trouble with tracking, 6% have refractive errors and 4% have strabismus (Koslowe, 1995, as cited in Cheatum & Hammond, 2000). The same study suggests that “the inability of visual tracking is also thought to be the cause of behavioral problems and being illiterate.” Winterbottom (2009) suggested that certain features of lighting can cause discomfort and impair visual and cognitive performance. These features include “imperceptible 100 Hz flicker from fluorescent lighting and glare induced by 1) daylight and fluorescent lighting, 2) interactive whiteboards (IWBs) and dry-erase whiteboards (DWBs)” (2009). The purpose of his study was to determine the degree and magnitude to which students are subjected to the above stated lighting inefficiencies in the classroom. The 100 Hz flicker from fluorescent lighting was displayed in 80% of the 90 UK classrooms u