As far back as the Stone Age, home-builders knew the importance of natural light. Villagers in ancient China designed their homes so that the entrance faced south, allowing them to soak up the sun during cold winter days. With few other heat sources, sunlight coming through the windows provided much-needed relief from the harsh winters.
The sun shining through a window is more than a heat source. Today we know more about the benefits of sunlight through windows. Exposure to natural light has amazing advantages for our physical and mental health: It helps us focus, makes us more productive, and enhances our mood. So is the sun through a window good for you? Yes—our ancestors were definitely on to something.
Can you get vitamin D through a window?
Unfortunately, no. Most glass blocks UVB rays, which is the type of sunlight that causes your body to create vitamin D, an essential nutrient we need for healthy bones, nerves, and immune systems. If the glass is uncoated, some UVB can penetrate, and with long enough exposure, you may get a little vitamin D from sunlight through a window. But to make sure you get enough, you should go outside.
Benefits of natural light through windows
There are still plenty of benefits of sunlight through windows, even without the UVB rays. Read on to see why when it comes to letting in sunlight, bigger windows may indeed be better.
1. Better Sleep
Sunlight helps regulate our circadian rhythms, which are our natural sleep-wake cycles. People have known about circadian rhythms since at least the ancient Greeks: the philosopher Theophrastus noted that one tree’s leaves would close in the evening and reopen in the morning. And of course, people noticed that morning sunlight through a window would wake them up!
We now know that exposure to sunlight helps us get a good night’s sleep, thanks to these regulating powers. (Hint: Noise-reducing windows can help, too.) One study found that office workers who were exposed to light through a window reported better sleep and more daytime activity versus those who worked in windowless environments.
2. Better Health
When we have access to natural light throughout the day—even sun through a window—we’re also more likely to be healthier. According to research from Cornell University, people living and working in an environment that provides window sunlight have fewer headaches and blurred vision issues.
Studies have also found that workers regularly exposed to sunlight require fewer sick days and even that hospital patients exposed to natural light recover faster. It’s one of the biggest benefits of sunlight through windows.
3. Improved Mood
It’s no surprise that workers in offices, teachers who spend their day in school buildings, and nearly anyone who spends a lot of time indoors prefer spaces with windows. We seem to instinctively know that we’re happier with natural light. Some of the benefits of natural light come from vitamin D, which can improve your mood.
However, even window sunlight can improve your mood by boosting serotonin levels. Serotonin is one of the most important “chemical messengers” that helps regulate mood and increase happiness.
4. Increased Focus and Productivity
Exposure to natural light helps people get things done. Sunlight spurs us to concentrate, allowing us to process information and make requisite decisions quickly. In the Cornell study, participants exposed to light coming through a window reported 56% less drowsiness than those who weren’t. Another interesting study found that skylights could increase the productivity of salespeople by an average of 40%.
5. More Creativity
Need to solve a problem? Let sunlight in through a window. Research has found that access to sunlight can augment our creativity by as much as 15 percent. Indeed, the evidence suggests that no matter what task we’re performing—writing, moderating an online work meeting, balancing a checkbook—we’re more creative, focused, and productive near light coming through a window.
Using windows and patio doors to create healthier homes and offices
The good news for 21st-century Americans is that not only are we aware of the benefits of sunlight through windows, but we—unlike our Stone Age brethren—have glass windows and patio doors that allow us to capitalize on them. Now that we know that sunlight through a window is good for you, how do we take advantage of it?
Work near a window with sunlight
Do your best to work in sun-splashed spaces. If you work in an office, that might be easier said than done. But, if possible, you should try to get a workspace near a natural light window. Failing that, you can place a light therapy lamp on your desktop. These lamps are relatively inexpensive and don’t require a doctor’s prescription.
If you have the good fortune to work at home, getting plenty of natural light may be more accessible. When considering where to place your home office, try to find a room with windows on at least two sides; this will increase the time you’re in the sun. Likewise, you could place your desk near a patio door to ensure you’ll bask in the sun for at least part of the day.
Create a whole new workspace
Your best bet might be to place a work shed in your backyard. By creating your work area, you’ll have the freedom to design a space that receives copious amounts of light through windows. You can find just about any design online, including ones that have windows on all sides. (At MILGARD Windows and Doors, we manufacture windows and doors that are compatible with all kinds of work sheds and tiny homes.)
If you’re feeling particularly inspired, you could follow in the footsteps of George Bernard Shaw. The famed Irish writer was so keen on the benefits of letting sunlight through the windows in his cherished writing shed (he believed sunlight got his creative juices flowing) that he placed the shed atop a rotating platform so that he could follow the sun.
Let the sunshine through the windows
These days, we may not need daylight to wake us or help us track animals for our meals, but can you get sun benefits through a window? Absorbing sunlight enables us to fight disease, stay alert, and be more productive. What’s more, it improves our mood.
No matter where you live or what you do for a living, you should do everything possible to ensure you get all the benefits of sunlight through windows. This added sunlight will leave you happier, healthier, and (hopefully) wiser.
MILGARD is ready to help with a wide variety of window styles, frame colors, glass options, energy-efficient features, and more. Just find a MILGARD Certified Dealer near you or get a quote online to get started.
