Creating different color zones through use of the correct type of lighting is a crucial element in developing an effective wellness environment. It is a well-known fact that color, lighting and personal mood are inextricably linked. With adaptable, sympathetic lighting, a sense of well-being can be achieved in any home or wellness center.
Light Enhances Color
Colour is constantly used for interior decor and furnishings to help suggest a particular event or emotion. Red and amber evoke memories of sunsets or feeling safe and warm. Pale blue and turquoise are reminiscent of the open space around a calm lake or sea. However, in a wellness setting, it’s light that makes the direct connection with colour. By using effective lighting, colour can be transformed into an element that enters subconscious thought to enhance colour therapy.
Wellness Decor
Many interior design projects aim to capture a mood or atmosphere through colour and lighting. In wellness areas this is particularly important as one of their prime functions is to provide reassuring, relaxing havens. Designers equip spas, massage rooms and relaxation areas with peaceful yet uplifting decor. Lighting is used specifically to illuminate certain corners, an entire room or highlight inspirational artwork.
Adaptable Lighting
A versatile wellness environment can easily be created through adaptable lighting. White walls are used to reflect different colours from a range of lighting effects throughout the day, accommodating a changing pattern of moods or needs. For instance, white with a blue tint is a high intensity light that can accelerate the production of serotonin. Used during the morning, it helps to improve work rate and enhance mental alertness. Warm, subdued lighting of peach or red has the opposite effect. As low intensity lights, they are best used at the end of the day as they stimulate melatonin production which encourages restful sleep.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Wellness lighting is important in combatting the debilitating effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Sufferers of SAD are particularly sensitive to the reduced amount of low quality light during the winter months. The medically recognised condition of SAD can lead to prolonged bouts of severe depression. However, the use of blue toned lighting can be a simple, but effective method of reducing depression by creating a healthy wellness environment to regulate the body’s internal mechanisms.
Regulating Your Body Clock
Matching the right colour and light to an emotional response has strong, psychological benefits. Choosing excessively bright, blue-tinted light during the night can disrupt your personal circadian cycle or body clock. Yellow or red-tinted hues encourage relaxation. Intense white light stimulates and therefore prevents restful sleep. Some people find that the smallest chink of light is a disturbance and only sleep deeply in a dark environment. Other people prefer the presence of a dim, warm-toned colour to enhance restful sleep, an important component in combatting depression. A range of beneficial lighting includes blue for relaxation and vivid yellow to improve energy levels. Green light has a low wavelength range and is extremely useful in reducing stress and anxiety.
Choosing the Right Light
Colour therapy relies on the healthiest lighting to stimulate positive wellbeing. LED lighting is regarded as a superior system compared to traditional incandescent light bulbs or Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs). A wellness environment is instantly healthier once an LED system is installed. LED bulbs don’t contain toxic mercury, and they only produce a minute quantity of ultra-violet UV rays unlike CFLs that have a high UV output. Equipping your wellness environment with LED lighting has many more advantages:
Controllable
LED lighting produces a complete range of tones within a specific colour, enabling you to perfectly match the required level. LED is more convenient than a traditional lighting system as it can easily be dimmed or brightened without the use of individual colour filters.
Size and Style
LED lighting is available in a range of convenient sizes beginning at less than two millimetres. LED bulbs can be used as clustered spotlights or in long strips to form circuits of light around a wellness room.
Instant Light
LED lights reach the maximum level of intensity in a fraction of a second, providing instant relief and treatment.
Energy-Efficient
Light output is measured in Lumens per Watt. LED lights produce a higher output ratio than incandescent or CFL bulbs, making them much more energy-efficient and economical to run.
Conclusion
A wellness environment is far more successful with an effective LED lighting system. Its instant, controllable range produces a wide spectrum of colour tones and shades that can bring increased psychological benefits. Light and colour can help improve energy levels and promote restful sleep. Effective wellness LED lighting is also efficient and economical.
Author Bio: This article was written by John Keohane of JKS Electrical. JKS have helped numerous Spa’s and Wellness centres with their lighting.
