Natural daylight is an environmental factor that has perhaps the greatest impact on the health and wellbeing of people within a space. It’s also one of the cheapest and most effective elements to incorporate into your new healthcare construction or medical fit out project.
Here’s why you should always to choose to work natural lighting into your next project.
Why is natural daylight so important in healthcare?The role of natural lighting in patient outcomes
In a previous article, we outlined the reasons why natural design elements in medical fit outs helped to improve patient outcomes. One such element was natural daylight. The Centre for Health Design outlines very clearly just some of the benefits of a combination of natural and artificial lighting for patient recovery:
- Decreased length of hospital stay.
- Reducing depression and symptoms of dementia.
- Improving sleep and circadian rhythm.
- Lessening agitation and reducing pain.
However, the benefits of natural light in Australian medical clinics go beyond assisting patient recovery and reducing waiting room stress. Natural light works its magic elsewhere.
Other advantages of natural lighting for medical centres
People working in a space with a lot of natural light experience an overall better quality of life.
Positive patient outcomes are the primary goal for any medical professional, but as we know, a clinic, day surgery or private hospital houses more than just patients. For the people who will eventually be working in this space, such as nurses, receptionists – and of course – yourself, the medical centre design must have a positive impact as well.
Natural light is one such element that has a positive effect on those working in a healthcare space. An article published in the Journal of Nurse Administration highlighted a study that found nurses exposed to natural daylight for at least three hours a day experienced less stress and were more satisfied at work. People working in a space with a lot of natural light also experience other important benefits, says Northwestern University, from better sleeping patterns and improved physical activity to an overall better quality of life.
From a business perspective, natural lighting make financial sense. Sustainability Victoria outlines that lighting typically consumes up to 26 per cent of a commercial building’s electrical bill. Maximising the amount of natural light in a space helps achieve good energy efficiency while reducing the electrical overhead of a building.
Incorporating natural light into your healthcare construction project
If you have the chance to work natural lighting into your medical fit out, always say yes. However, you can have too much of a good thing. Excessive glare and heating from an abundance of natural light sources can have the opposite effect than intended. Seeking help from experienced professionals can help your project strike the perfect daylight balance.
To find out more, reach out to the team at Space for Health today.
