Happy Living in Darkness! Indoor Lighting in Relation to Activities of Daily Living, Visual and General Health in 75-Year-Olds Living at Home. Issue 2 (2nd April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Eilertsen, Grethe; Horgen, Gunnar; Kvikstad, Tor Martin; Falkenberg, Helle K.
• Is Part Of: Journal of housing for the elderly. Volume 30:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 199
• Page End: 213
• Publication Date: 2016-04-02
• Subjects: indoor lighting -- home environment -- healthy aging -- vision -- health promotion; Older people -- Dwellings -- Periodicals; Aging -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 363.5946
• DOI: 10.1080/02763893.2016.1162256
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0276-3893

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Lighting has been identified as a significant environmental attribute for promoting vision and general health among older people, enabling successful aging at home, but it has received little attention in the literature. Indoor lighting levels, self-reported vision and general health, and activities of daily life were measured in 114 healthy 75-year-old Norwegians. Despite very low levels of indoor lighting, the subjects were happy and healthy. There is a large discrepancy between self-assessed health and recommended lighting levels, and low awareness of the effect of lighting on age-related vision loss or daily living in the future. Knowledge of how to utilize indoor lighting to ensure healthy and safe aging in the home is needed.