And
Fewer Cavities
Amazingly,
those Florida first graders under full spectrum lighting also developed
significantly fewer cavities than the group who studied under conventional
light. While the reason for the difference in tooth decay is unclear, animal
research backs up these findings. Intuitively we know that sunlight (which
contains all the colors of the spectrum)imbues us with a sense of
well‑being. Several studies attest to the fact that being in the darkness
decreases the red cell count of the blood, while exposure to light increases it.
In either event the blood tends to right itself when the light is
stabilized‑‑that is, when we are sometimes in the dark and sometimes
in the light. In some circumstances it appears conclusive that color can have
healing properties. When an infant is born with jaundice, giving the skin a
sickly yellow tinge, exposure to bluelight may correct the condition, depending
on the cause. The yellow apparent in the skin is the result of a high bilirubin
level in the blood. (Bilirubin is a yellowish substance formed when the body
breaks down hemoglobin, the red cell material that transports oxygen through the
body). Premature infants often have livers which are not equipped to deal with
this problem, and jaundice is the result. If the level of bilirubin is too high,
brain damage and cerebral palsy may result.
Light replaces
transfusion
Previously, the only treatment possible was a complete transfusion, or exchange of blood, which obviously endangers the infant to some degree. Often repeat transfusions were necessary. In 1958, an English doctor, Richard Cremer accidentally discovered that the bilirubin level could be corrected with artificial blue light in the nursery for eight hours a day for five or six days. Today, the blue‑light treatment is finally replacing the transfusions. While an initial transfusion may still be necessary, the light treatment has considerably reduced the need for additional ones. At some medical centers, including the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, full‑spectrum fluorescent has been found to work nearly as well as blue light. The babies are kept under the full‑spectrum fluorescent around the clock for a few days. Shields cover their eyes (Yet the lighting in the rest of the hospital is limited spectrum‑fluorescent). Medicine makes some people react differently to the sun. The tetracyclines especially cause some people to burn more readily, and as a result the dosage required may be different if you are wintering in sunny climes. The profound effect of sunlight on human beings can be appreciated from the fact that its total absence can make a woman temporarily infertile. it happens to Eskimos who live near the Arctic Circle during the dark winter days when their land is unrelieved by sunlight. if light is somehow related to behavior and the female's ability to conceive, might it also influence the sex of her offspring? Well it appears to do so in chinchillas. In 1970 statistics compiled over five years by more than 2,000 ranchers demonstrated that the ratio of females to males could be altered by the color of light under which they lived. Chinchillas, were bred under ordinary incandescent lighting such as plain light bulbs have litters averaging 60‑75 percent male; when the bulbs were changed to "daylight" bulbs which have a transparent bluish glass the ratio of females to males reverses. So, in this case, blue is for girls.
Pink light irritates
We are not
suggesting that if you want a boy you replace your bedroom bulbs with pink
bulbs; in fact pink light produces irritability and tension when it is installed
in offices to provide a softer feeling, according to light expert John Ott.
In one informal
study at the University of South Florida, Ott remembers three college students
out of 300 were found to be "disturbed." All three wore the pink lens
glasses so much in fashion. In laboratory tests, pink fluorescent lighting kept
on for 12 hours a day over a period of six months caused the tails of mice
gradually to slough off. This group had the lowest survival rate as compared to
mice kept under various types of fluorescent. Survival was highest under day
light‑‑full‑spectrum fluorescent. Plant life is similarly
affected by color. Generally, long‑wave light (red, orange) appears to
accelerate plant growth, while short‑wave (green, blue, violet) retards
it. Plants that bloom during the long summer sunlight are found to grow tallest
when exposed to orange‑red light; they did not bloom at all under yellow,
green or blue light, although they did produce heavy foliage. Morning glories
however, which open before dawn do best under blue and fail under red.
Fish that spend
their lives in aquariums thrive in a black light, the safe ultraviolet, is kept
on at least part of the day. It not only prevents a disease known as "pop‑eye"
but also puts a stop to the fin-nipping that is common among aquarium fish. Some
fish cannot be kept alive in captivity without the added black light. Although
discos and nightclubs often use this kind of lighting for effect rather than
health (it makes white glow in the dark) those who frequent them may be doing
themselves a bit of good. At one Chicago seafood restaurant, according to Ott,
the ultraviolet light was added many years ago for special effects. When the
owner was queried about the health of the employees, he revealed that they
generally got along extremely well, were seldom ill and that he had the same
waiters who had been there when the lights were installed 18 years before.
Although most of us are aware that there are some colors we are attracted to and
some we shun, does color elicit physiological changes that can be measured? That
was the question Robert Gerrard set out to answer a few years ago when he was
working on his doctorate at the University of California at Los Angeles. His
research confirmed intuition:
Red does excite, blue does soothe. He did detailed
studies of blood pressure, the conductivity of the palm that indicates the
arousal of the autonomic nervous system, respiration rate, heartbeat, muscle
activity, eye blinks and brain‑waves. He asked the subjects how they felt.
The more anxious the subject, the more red disturbed them. Blood pressure, eye
blinks, palm conductivity and breathing rate went up under red, down under blue.
No difference was found in heartbeat, but there was in brainwave activity. While
the brain showed response to red, white and blue (the only colors used in the
experiment), after 10 minutes the activity remained consistently greater for red
than for blue.
White elicited a response similar to red. Restauranteurs for years have known that vivid red tends to make diners psychologically outgoing and expansive, and they use it in the decor of many posh eating places. How many times have you seen red goblets, red tablecloths and red flocked wallpaper rather than say, yellow or green in restaurants? Yellow is thought to depress appetite. Darrell Boyd Harmon a design consultant more interested in the effect of interiors then their appearance, discovered more than 40 years ago that the soft, warm colors in the red family, such as peach, tan and the light emitted from warm fluorescence are conducive to intellectual pursuits and would be good choices in schools, libraries and any other study centers. His extensive work in schools was done for the Texas State Health Dept.
Locker
room strategy
Soft, cool
colors, Harmon found, such as green, blue‑green and the light from cool
fluorescence induce movement and would be ideal in a gym. However, the deeper,
brighter blues have a tendency to orient a person inward, just as deep and vivid
red tones energize. The knowledge that red impels people to action has been put
to use by some school athletic coaches: They have their locker rooms painted
vivid red, the visitors' a low‑energy blue. The tendency today however, is
still to play down the importance of color and concentrate solely on adequate
brightness. But the brightness needed to combat the dark walls that decorators
make popular every other decade may actually impede your concentration. Think
how often you close your eyes to solve a complex problem or comprehend difficult
material: you are blocking out all visual stimulation which may be distracting,
Color should be directed to help you concentrate not fight against it. As our
knowledge of the full role that color and light play in our lives becomes more
comprehensive, the improvements may be dramatic.
Continued
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