Everyone needs sunlight! Science shows that there are lots of benefits of natural light. Everyone can feel the warmth and positive influence from the sun even without knowing exactly how its light affects our bodies. After all, who doesn’t love stepping outside on a bright, sunny day and taking a moment to lift our faces toward the sun and let it soak in?
Opening up your home to natural light is an effective way to get the amount of sunlight needed to thrive. Discover the reasons why natural light is so important and learn about some of the incredible benefits you’ll receive when you get enough sunlight.
Benefits of Natural Light
Bringing sunlight into your residence can help you save money, improve your health and create a joyful living space. We’ll cover some of the top benefits of sunny spaces and how you can harness the power of natural light to improve your home and wellbeing.
1. Energy Savings
When you rely more on natural light in your residence, you’ll quickly see why sunlight improves your daily activities. Daylighting is the intentional use of skylights, windows and sunspaces to fill your home’s interior with light, so you rely less on lamps and other electrical lighting elements.
Make it part of your routine to open the curtains and blinds to let the sunlight in every morning. Whenever the weather permits, consider opening your windows to let in the fresh air. By relying on natural light throughout the day instead of turning on the lights, you’ll reap the benefits of visibility from the sun. As a bonus, you may start seeing lower energy bills every month!
Let even more light in with sunrooms. Energy-efficient sunrooms can reduce heating bills by warming your home during colder seasons, especially on sunny winter days. While south-facing windows allow the most sunlight and solar heating into your home during the winter months, windowed rooms on any side of the house are beneficial because they:
- Let in more light
- Lower electric bills
- Reduce energy consumption
Sunspaces with specialized glass roofs reflect heat in the summer to keep the house cooler and reduce air conditioning reliance, so you can save energy all year long.
2. A Healthier You
One of the best qualities of natural light is that it makes us healthier. Sunlight is the primary way to get vitamin D — an essential nutrient for absorbing calcium and keeping your bones healthy. Most people know that the sun is our main source for producing vitamin D, yet there are even more benefits of getting enough natural light:
- Healthier eyes: Recent studies indicate vitamin D prevents macular degeneration and other eye conditions like glaucoma and cataracts. Natural light prevents the eye strain experienced by exposure to artificial blue lighting from LED light bulbs, smartphones and computer screens.
- Better sleep: If you’re looking for a better sleep experience, sunlight may be your answer. When you spend time in the sunlight, especially in the early morning, you’re more likely to sleep through the night. Maintaining adequate vitamin D levels results in truly restful slumber. Better sleep also improves your immune function, heart health and blood sugar levels.
- Improved mental health: Sunlight releases a mood-boosting hormone called serotonin. Serotonin reduces anxiety, increases happiness and instills calm. Natural light can also stave off seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression experienced in a seasonal pattern. SAD symptoms usually occur during lower-light winter months. Light therapy and vitamin D can prevent and reduce the effects of SAD symptoms.
If we can help make ourselves healthier with something as simple as letting in more sunlight, we should always open up the blinds and curtains — or spend some time outside!
3. Increased Productivity
There’s a reason you feel more energetic and refreshed when you’re in a sunny space. Studies show that regular exposure to natural light improves our productivity, resulting in more completed tasks, heightened efficiency and higher-quality work. Whether this has to do with our improved moods or something else, you may find that you get more done when you let the natural light in.
Research also indicates that sunlight brightens our memory and learning. It’s amazing what letting the light in can do to improve our ability to focus. If you think you’re not as productive as you should be, ask yourself whether you experience enough sunlight. Think about the environment you’re in throughout the day — when you’re at home, while you’re at work and when you’re out and about. If you find that you’re in artificial light most of the time, it’s time to get more sun.
While you can’t wave a magic wand to install more windows at work, you can always spend more time in natural light at home. Maximize your daylight hours with time outside, and spend time inside in front of windows.
4. Higher Home Value
An abundance of natural light can increase the value of your home. One of the most desirable features today’s homebuyers look for is plenty of sunlight throughout the house. Prospective buyers are not willing to compromise on their favorite features, and two of their highly sought-after conditions are sunlight and space.
Even though windows and skylights may not technically add square footage to a home, they do bring in more light and make the space look bigger. In the same way that lighter paint colors visually increase a space, the shine of sunlight through glass has the same effect.
Light-filled spaces are also a favorite among plant-loving millennials — or anyone with a green thumb — because more sunlight means thriving, happy succulents and houseplants.
Add value to your home by creating a lighter and brighter space with these steps:
- Clean your windows for maximum light.
- Consider a light-color paint refresh on the walls.
- Swap those heavy curtains for light and airy sheers.
- Strategically place mirrors to bounce light around the room.
- Open all blinds and curtains during the day.
Enjoy the Benefits of Sunlight With a New Sunroom From PAsunrooms
A great way to add more sunlight to your home is to add a sunroom. When you’re relaxing alone, spending time with friends and family or getting something done, you have sunlight coming in from almost every direction. At PAsunrooms, we have the experience and expertise to help you build the perfect sunroom for your home. Contact us today for a free estimate or give us a call at 717-564-2244.
