Living in today’s digital world means constant exposure to artificial light. Computer screens, cell phones, and overhead fluorescent lighting can maintain productivity and illuminate areas past normal daytime hours.

While artificial light can be beneficial for some purposes, relying on it too heavily can be a detriment to your health. Artificial lighting can strain your eyes, joints, and mental health, especially when it is used as a substitute for real, natural sunlight.

If you feel stressed, fatigued, overwhelmed, or confined while doing daily activities in your home, you may want to give your lighting setup a second look. Natural lighting may be much closer than you think, through a common fixture in almost any home: the window.

Natural and Artificial Light, Compared

Fluorescent lighting is one of the most common types of indoor artificial lighting. Homes, offices, and public buildings often have fluorescent lighting installed in some capacity. This lighting type is praised for higher energy efficiency compared to incandescent lighting, but can hurt your well-being if you spend too much time around them. 

Your electronic devices are another source of artificial light. Computer screens commonly use fluorescent lighting known as CCFLs, while TV screens use LEDs. High exposure to these devices can cause digital eye strain.

Natural light in your home is the amount of sunlight that reaches inside your living space. Your windows are the primary method of letting sunlight into your home. Homes with smaller windows, or less windows, will let less natural light in than homes with more generous window planning.

Health Benefits of Natural Light

Natural light is a source of vitamin D. High amounts of vitamin D can improve your bone health, while a lack of vitamin D can increase your risk of muscle weakness, tiredness, and even high blood pressure. Just a few minutes of sun per day can increase your vitamin D intake, and windows that let natural light in can help you reach your daily goal in the comfort of your own home.

If you are experiencing eye strain, headaches, or general fatigue from staring at a computer screen for too long, fluorescent lighting may make your discomfort worse. Falling into a daily cycle of constant artificial light exposure can compound in the long-term, further deteriorating your well-being.

Natural light is a simple, effective solution for digital eye strain. Relaxing next to your window on a clear, sunny day can help you destress from your daily routine, and spacious window designs can maximize the amount of de-stressing natural light you’re sitting under.

Energy Costs

If your home is naturally well-lit, you will spend less time keeping your lights on. Reworking your window placement to let more light in is known as daylighting, and this practice can lead to significant energy savings in the long-term.

Energy costs continue to rise in the Kansas City area, and more homeowners are looking for ways to reduce their usage. Window replacement has both financial and personal health benefits, which can make it a useful, even essential investment in some cases.

If you are considering installing new windows, different window types will let in different amounts of light.  Windows with large glass surface areas can maximize the amount of light they let in. Picture windows, bay and bow windows, and corner windows have expansive, open designs that let in as much light as possible. 

Daylight Your Home Today

Open & Shut KC is the premier destination for window replacement in Kansas City. We work with trusted suppliers of picture, bay and bow, corner, and many other spacious window designs to let as much light into your home as possible. Our window replacements can combine natural light with leak-free insulation, so you can gain the benefits of sunlight while shutting out needless drafts in your home.

With natural light illuminating your home, you can see your energy bill decrease and your daily mood increase, while the beauty of your interior can be drawn out in previously unseen ways. Call 913-586-OPEN to get a quote on daylighting your home, or visit our website at openandshutkc.com to see our experience in window replacement today.

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