How Does Your Home's Lighting Really Affect Your Mood? How to Boost Its Benefits, and Downplay the Bad Side
I asked the experts to break down how our body responds to light, and how it can affect our mood — and, more importantly, what we can do about it at home
It's important not to underestimate the impact that lighting can have on your mood. For many of us — particularly in the UK — the winter months are consistently dull and gray, and this will, no doubt, have a big bearing on how we feel. And while we can't change the weather, we can control the lighting in our home.
By thoughtfully planning your home's lighting scheme and maximizing natural light in the design of your spaces, you can reap many of the benefits that good lighting brings — all while elevating your space in the process. With a few simple changes to your scheme, you can make a world of difference to your space and your mood.
I spoke to the experts to find out everything there was to know about the effects that lighting can have, and what changes we can make to support our mood — these are the simple swaps that can make a big impact.
How Can Your Home's Lighting Affect Your Mood?
It's only natural for a complete lack of sunlight to have some effect on your mood, but if this feels less like your typical low day and more like a sustained sadness that carries you through the winter months, you could be experiencing some degree of SAD.
SAD, aka Seasonal Affective Disorder, is described as "a subtype of major depressive disorder," by assistant professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr Ashwini Nadkarni, and this emotional shift can occur when we are deprived of sunlight exposure.
"Sunlight deficiency can disrupt our circadian rhythm, or our body's internal, 24-hour cycle, which regulates our physical and behavioral patterns (e.g., sleep-wake cycle), Dr Ashwani explains. "Sunlight exposure triggers serotonin production (a chemical involved in regulating our mood). SAD is associated with changes in serotonin, as well as dopamine (another chemical involved in regulating our mood)."
Without the daily cues of the sun rising and setting as you wake up and wind down, your body's circadian rhythm becomes out of sync, and you may notice a depletion of energy. These changes not only affect your mood, but your sleep hygiene, too
"It’s not just about brightness, but about the loss of natural light cues that help regulate mood and emotional balance," explains Elisheva Manekin, the creative director at Oasis Lighting. "When those cues are missing, mood can drop, motivation can fade, and everything can feel heavier. Light plays a central role in both the cause and the treatment."
Ashwini Nadkarni, MD, is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, associate medical director of Brigham Psychiatric Specialties, and vice chair for Faculty Enrichment in the Department of Psychiatry. She is board-certified in Psychiatry and, in her clinical practice, incorporates a trauma-informed, patient-centered approach, prioritizing compassion and collaboration.
"Light therapy boxes can mimic sunlight," states Dr Ashwini. These boxes work by using a far higher lux than typical light bulbs do. "Typically, such therapeutic lamps provide an intensity of 10,000 lux as part of the standard recommendation," says Dr Ashwini, a stark contrast to the standard 150 lux you'll likely find in your bedroom. Livingetc.com's editor Hugh uses this Lumie one from Amazon, which delivers on 10,000 lux.
Just 20 minutes of exposure to this lux intensity can trick your circadian rhythm into thinking you're experiencing true sunlight, and can help to regulate your mood and sleep patterns.
"Less daylight, more darkness, and heavy reliance on synthetic light can all contribute to lower mood," adds Elisheva. "Supporting brighter days and calmer evenings with intentional lighting helps replace some of the natural cues we lose in winter and can make the season feel more manageable."
Elisheva does, however, explain that for those medically diagnosed with SAD, clinical light therapy would be the recommended route to take, and should be guided by a trained professional.
Elisheva is the founder of the smart home lighting brand, Oasis. Oasis lights adjust automatically throughout your day, just like the sun, to give you bright and energizing mornings and ease you into soft and cozy nights.
How Do Our Bodies Respond to Light?
"Light plays a quiet but powerful role in how we feel," says Elisheva, "It influences mood-regulating hormones and helps the brain understand whether it’s time to feel open and engaged, or calm and inward." Much of this is instinctive to us; we take bright, intense lighting as a sign to be alert, and soft, moody lighting as a cue to relax.
But there is science behind these instincts. As Rebecca explains, "Our bodies react differently depending on the color spectrum and intensity of light." To fully grasp this concept, our guide to understanding light bulbs will definitely help, but, in short, you will need to pay attention to the CRI and Lux levels of your bulbs when considering how they may affect your mood.
The light that will have the most beneficial impact on your mood is, of course, natural light. "Natural light isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, it has a direct impact on our body’s circadian rhythm, affecting everything from serotonin levels to sleep quality, and energy levels to emotional state, metabolism, behavior, and mood," says Arighi Bianchi's interiors expert, Lucy Mather.
"Homes that maximize natural light — whether through layout, lighter finishes, or sheer window treatments — tend to feel calmer and more uplifting." In contrast, homes dominated by intense artificial lights can have the opposite effect, making you feel more tired and drained. This is largely because many typical artificial lights rely heavily on blue light.
"[Daylight] shifts in tone and intensity throughout the day and contains a healthy mix of blue and red wavelengths that gently guide mood and rhythm," explains Elisheva. It's this process of shifting and changing that our body responds to, and it's what we lose when we're only exposed to static, artificial lighting.
How to Adapt Your Home's Lighting to Support Your Mood
"We adapt our wardrobes to match the seasons, and the same should go for lighting," argues Lucy. And there's a lot of truth behind the sentiment. Perhaps the easiest place to begin is by integrating light therapy into your daily routine.
"Introducing a daily session of bright light therapy into our routine (which can be as simple as using Lumie Vitamin L for 30 minutes at your desk) during the darker months and when spending significant periods of time indoors in dimly lit environments can help us to feel more alert and energised and help with seasonal mood changes," recommends Rebecca.
Rebecca also suggests avoiding bright light in the evening and instead opting for warmer tones that help to prepare us for sleep. This will also help to create a more cozy living room or bedroom by prioritizing a layered lighting scheme.
Lucy suggests "At least three light sources per room." This means you can combine some warm, ambient lighting with accent lighting, which is ideal for wind-down time, with other bright, task lighting options for when you want to boost focus.
Plus, no one wants cold, sterile lighting to dominate a space, regardless of the season — the key is in understanding when to use cool light versus warm light, to effectively boost your mood, and the style of your space, too.
By far the most stylish SAD lamp on the market, the Lumie Halo delivers intense bright light for your morning boost, as well as a softer, warmer light for when it's time to wind down. I've got one myself, and it's my favorite part of my daily routine.
These clever bulbs can be controlled via your smartphone, so you can adjust the intensity and color of your lighting throughout the day, in accordance with your circadian rhythm.
The perfect addition to your work from home setup. This may look like any other desk lamp, but with an impressive 10,000 lux rating, it can improve your mood in ways your classic table lamp could never.
For more ideas to boost your mood, these are the seven simple routine changes to make during darker mornings that will inspire your home habits this winter.
