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Sunlight is good for more than just your eyesight
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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British neurobiologists have confirmed a long-known fact: bright daylight has a positive effect on human activity and performance. For a better mood, as well as to increase attentiveness, it is worth choosing a workplace near a window, and an office on the sunny side of the building.
British medical journals have published the results of several studies conducted in the laboratories of Oxford University. The experiments concerned the influence of sunlight and artificial light on the attentiveness and mood of adults. The head of the study, Russell Foster, insists that daylight has a positive effect not only on a person’s vision, but also on their productivity and overall daytime activity.
If there is a choice, it is worth using it in choosing a workplace: an office desk well lit by natural light will cause a good mood and, accordingly, better performance. Scientists also believe that time spent in daylight has a positive effect on both the quality and duration of sleep.
British scientists have noted that in the modern world, most people suffer from a lack of sunlight. Adults increasingly deny themselves the necessary "dosage" of sunlight. See for yourself, a modern adult spends most of his time indoors: at home, in the office, at clubs, in restaurants or at cinemas as an evening pastime. Do not deceive yourself and convince yourself that if the room is well lit, then artificial light can fully replace sunlight. Even the brightest artificial lighting cannot replace the sun's rays.
Every person feels the need for sunlight and this is scientifically proven. Medical research has proven that daytime sunlight has a beneficial effect on the skin, destroying various bacteria that can cause dangerous diseases. The nervous system is also “charged” by the energy of sunlight: a person who spends enough time feeding on the sun's rays becomes more attentive, focused, purposeful and, accordingly, his or her performance increases significantly.
Research conducted in Oxford has shown that the productivity of a person who spends the whole day indoors without sunlight can drop by almost 2.5 times compared to those people whose workplace is located near a window, in the daytime sun.
First of all, this dependence is connected with the increase of attention in those people who have the opportunity to feed on the sun's rays throughout the day. If a person becomes more attentive, he requires twice less time to complete a task or assignment.
If you cannot choose or change the location of your office desk, scientists recommend going outside several times a day and staying in the sun for 15-20 minutes. Even one hour a day will be enough for stable functioning of the nervous system, improved mood and productivity.
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