Don’t you feel better when you’re sitting in warm, natural sunlight? Natural light is better for you than you might think.
Allowing more natural light to stream through your windows is great for you and for your home. Keep your windows sparkling clean, open up the curtains, and enjoy these 3 surprising benefits.
1: Decreased Energy Costs
Lots of people pull the shades, draw the curtains, and then use electric lights to illuminate their interior spaces.
Why?
Letting sunlight into your home instead of running lamps and light bulbs can decrease your energy costs as much as 75%! On average, 47% of your home’s energy is used on space conditioning – your light and thermostat – and natural sunlight can alleviate both.
2: Better Mood
There’s a strong correlation between spending more time in natural light and improving your mood.
Sunlight has been shown to combat depression, increase productivity, promote calmness and reduce anxiety, and it even helps regulate seasonal mood disorders such as Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Natural lighting can also reduce eye strain and boost energy levels, so let more sunlight into your workspace to get more out of your day.
3: Improved Health
On top of combating depression and mood disorders, natural light is good for your physical health, too.
Your body needs sunlight to produce vitamin D, which boost your immune system, fights asthma, and keeps your brain functioning at its best. In parts of the world where sunlight is scarce during part of the year, people actually use lamps to simulate natural light in order to prevent vitamin D deficiency.
If you have respiratory challenges, allowing more sunlight into your home should be a top priority.
Natural light inhibits the growth of mold and mildew, keeping your space clean and healthy.
Letting More Natural Light In
The simplest thing you can do to let more natural light into your home is to open your curtains and blinds.
Keep windows clean, and if you’re fortunate enough to have skylights in your home, keep them clean and swept clear of debris, too. Dirty windows and skylights block all that beneficial sunlight from getting in.
In the summertime, you might not want too much direct sunlight because it heats up your home and your air conditioning has to work harder. Pay attention to the angle of the sun and open windows that allow indirect light inside.
When your house is open and full of light, you’ll feel healthier and happier. Open your windows and let some sunshine in!
Leave a Reply