Are you getting enough light exposure? As a freelancer working from home, you may find it challenging to get outside, especially on a miserable and cold day.
You may be surprised to learn that exposure to bright light is crucial not just for clear vision but also for our overall well-being.
Light can be measured in LUX, and you’ll be stunned by the difference in light quality between your dingy office and the outside. For perspective, a poorly lit room could have less than 50 LUX, while the outdoors on a clear winter afternoon can reach an astounding 20,000 LUX—that’s 400 times brighter!
Even on a cloudy winter day, when the sun might seem to be hiding, the outdoors is still significantly brighter than indoors, at around 7,000 LUX. This exposure to bright light can have positive effects on our health.
Benefits of Exposure to Bright Light
Bright light activates serotonin in our brains, a chemical that helps boost our mood and counteracts cortisol, a stress hormone, enhancing our self-confidence. So next time when it’s cloudy, think twice before staying indoors. Consider getting outside for 30 minutes before work or during your lunch. Going for a walk is also fantastic for your health, and you could add around 2,500 steps to your daily count.
If you really can’t make it outside, try spending some time near your window. Remember, even a seemingly gloomy day outside will offer you more light than inside your home!
Other Excuses to Get Outdoors
As if you need an excuse to get outside! But if you are in back-to-back meetings all day or your task list is longer than Dumbledore’s Beard, here are some ideas on how to catch some rays throughout the day.
Walking Meetings
Schedule walking meetings when possible instead of sitting inside. Whether that is walking with someone in a meeting, getting on the phone, or having a Zoom call, you could even encourage the other meeting attendees to do the same thing if it’s a remote call.
Short Exposure
If you’re too busy for a long walk outside, consider taking a few minutes each hour to pop outdoors. A few minutes an hour across a whole workday could easily add up to 30 minutes or more. Regular breaks can also help with concentration levels and help you avoid burnout. The Pomodoro method of working could be a great way to break up your day.
The Pomodoro method is a time management technique where you work for 25 minutes, then take a short break, repeating the cycle to improve productivity.
Eat Lunch Outside
We all need to refuel at some point in the day. This is your perfect excuse to get outside. Find a nearby bench or try a standing lunch! If it’s raining, pull up a chair by the window.
Utilise Outdoor Spaces
Work from a laptop? That thing is portable and can easily be taken outside.
No Wi-Fi outside? Try tethering to your phone or get some focused writing done away from the distracting pings of updates.
Remember, as humans, we are naturally designed to be outdoors. The concept of being confined to a home or office space is relatively new in our evolution. We are also an incredible species of walkers, capable of covering hundreds of miles without stopping. Let’s try to reconnect with the lifestyle for which our bodies were designed.
Embrace the light; it’s good for your health. Remember, the sun always rises for a new day.
P.S. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen when outside – even in the UK on a cloudy winter day those UV rays can still hit hard.
This article was inspired from a video made by Matter Neuroscience on Instagram.
