Natural lighting and rehabilitation centers – hospitals
The reported benefits of natural lighting in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, concerning the reduced cost of lighting and heating, and improved physical and psychological situation for both patients and staff. Studies show that natural light can reduce mental and physical stress of patients, doctors and nurses. “The natural lighting offers a sense of spirituality,Clarity, wellness and spiritual uplift ” (Verderber 1993).
The effect of light in hospitals is the reason why the German hospitals and medical facilities have banned the use of fluorescent (Walker 1998).
The benefits of natural light and a sense of well-being manifested staff, visitors and patients. Studies show, also, that natural light can reduce the operating costs of a facility, as patients recover faster in these rehabilitation centers (Vischer 1986? Verderber 1983).
Related Regulations windows in hospitals, have particular application in the United States. The regulations require that a window should be shown in places where the length of stay of patients is expected to surpass the 23 hours.
The benefits for patients and workers
Exposure to bright light affects the natural clock of patients and employees in hospitals. In some diseases, the biological regulatory system (circadian rhythms) plays an important role in maintaining the wellness of the individual. The disease is a crippling disease. Alzheimer patients exposed to intense light during the day have improved their circadian rhythms and is less prone to depression (Light, Sight, and Photobiology 1998). These improved measurements in circadian rhythms can reduce the time requirements of caregivers to Alzheimer’s units. The windows provide patients view in light and weather changes that contribute to familiarize the patient with the recovery area (Perron 1998).
In rehabilitation centers, Lighting is a very important parameter for improving the health of patients. To obtain the correct visual acuity, an average person 60 years requires two to three times the light of an average person 20 years, and an average person 86 years may require five times the light levels (Jones 1996).These differences are due to age clouding of the lens, creating a drop of retinal, which makes the effective adaptation of vision in brightness lower for older adults (Veitch 2001). Therefore, older adults, generally, require better visual contrast and greater task luminance to achieve the same level of visibility with a younger person. For people with impaired vision, the lighting is very important to boost confidence in many simple activities, like walking on the treadmill.
Falls are one of the most common and dangerous situations for the elderly (Jones 1996) and can be attributed to improper or inadequate lighting. Vitamin D obtained from the natural light is also a factor in the ability to recover from a fall, as well as vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium in bones and other tissues of the body.
CASE STUDIES
Το Way Station, a mental health center in Frederick, Maryland, created a pleasant and therapeutic environment that promotes the well-being of people with severe mental illness (Franta και Anstead 1994). The Way Station designed in such a way, to permit the entry of natural light in various portions of the study egkatastasis.Mia 2001 από τον Benedetti, et al. on the effects of intense artificial lighting in non-seasonal depression documented benefits for patients with mental disorders. The duration of hospitalization for 415 hospitalized patients with unipolar and 187 bipolar depression recorded, namely cases stay in rooms with east or west window. Hospitalized patients with bipolar depression with east rooms (exposed to direct sunlight in the morning) had a mean 3,67 days shorter hospital stay than patients with western rooms. However, no effect was observed for patients with unipolar katathlipsi.O Benedetti, a αϊ. (2001) concluded that, “natural light may be an underestimate and unexplored treatment for bipolar depression.”
Postoperative results
The D. Wilson (Collins 1975) conducted a study on the influence of windows on postoperative delirium rates in hospitals. Found that units without windows had double the number of patients experiencing postoperative delirium and depression. The windows provide a means of escape psychological reduced the level of stress for patients.
The natural lighting environment provides the necessary mental balance for patients and reduces the tendency of short psychotic episodes. The natural lighting is important in the medical field, because it can reduce anxiety and depression in patients (Collins 1975).
Environment and rehabilitation centers
The goal of rehabilitation centers is to provide a suitably configured environment that will contribute to the transmission of a sense of calm for patients, staff and visitors. The natural light is one of the many ideas used to achieve this effect.
Creating an ideal rehabilitation center was the center of planning in North Hawaii Community Hospital. The small, rural hospital built in the mid 1990 and included many features that a traditional hospital may not have.
The corridors of the hospital systems using natural lighting and large windows to provide a sense of contact with the external environment and allow parallel entry of natural fotos.Ta patient rooms had sliding glass doors leading to a garden at the perimeter of the hospital.
Ο John McNeil (2001), Διευθύνων Σύμβουλος του North Hawaii Community Hospital, said that the natural light in the hospital contributed to “eliminate headaches due in many cases to flicker bulbs artificial lighting.”
A daylighting system was installed at the intersection of two main corridors of the hospital. The McNeil noted that “people are driven by sunlight” both of these positions. “The happy employees lead to happy patients “, commented McNeil.
By number and other innovative features hospital, chosen with a rating between 15 state hospitals as the “Hospital with heart” for philosophy in the care of patients. In surveys of patient satisfaction between 1.000 hospitals nationwide, the North Hawaii Community Hospital was selected as the hospital with “the greatest satisfaction index for patients in the nation.”