5 lighting tips to avoid eye strain and headaches

Complaints due to incorrect lighting

What can be described as perfect lighting always depends on the activity. Accordingly, it can quickly happen that the lighting conditions are not perfect and your eyes suffer more or less noticeably as a result. This is because we often only become aware of a lack of light or excessive light when we already have a headache or our eyes are noticeably irritated.

If your eyes have to compensate too much for unfavourable lighting conditions, this will sooner or later result in headaches. Depending on how often and how intensely you are exposed to incorrect lighting, this can lead to migraines and depression.

Appropriate, adequate lighting is therefore not a luxury, but a necessary factor for personal well-being. Of course, not every home and certainly not every workplace offers the conditions for optimal lighting, but there are some basic things that can be implemented in most places.

Where can unfavourable lighting occur?

The classic example of poor lighting causing headaches and eye strain is in jobs that involve a lot of screen work. Blue light is tiring, you blink less and your eyes are always focused on the same distance. These and many other reasons cause dry eyes and sharp headaches the longer you spend at your desk.

Most advice on optimised lighting refers to the workplace. However, poor lighting can also affect your ability to concentrate and cause unpleasant headaches in your private life. This can happen when cutting vegetables in the kitchen, when brushing your teeth if the bathroom ceiling light is too bright, or even when the television is the only source of light in the living room. Simple direct or indirect lighting concepts, such as a ceiling lamp for the living room or LED lighting in the kitchen, can work wonders here.

The same applies to the bedroom, of course: where some people like to devour a few pages of literature late at night or even work at the table, suitable lighting should definitely be installed. And this applies to all generations: even the little ones should have a suitable reading or desk lamp in their bedroom to counteract unnecessary eye strain and headaches.

Reasons for eye strain and headaches caused by poor lighting

"It's probably because of the light": a quick explanation that doesn't really say much about the source of the discomfort. Only when you know the exact problem with the lighting can you fix it and ensure that light-related headaches and eye strain don't come back. Specifically, headaches are usually caused by the following lighting conditions:

• Contrast settings: If the screen contrast of your computer, tablet or smartphone does not match the lighting conditions of the environment, this means extra work for your eyes. In the worst case, there is also a reflective effect – all of which has a noticeable impact.
• General lighting that is too bright or too dark: This is particularly relevant in offices. This is because several people often sit together in one room, so you have limited control over the brightness in the room and have to cope with light that is too bright or too dark.
• Changing lighting conditions: This problem also frequently occurs in professional environments. For example, people who work at a desk and have to look frequently from a screen to a handwritten document are constantly switching between different distances, which puts a significant strain on their eyes.
• Reflective surfaces or dazzling lights: Safety standards are in place for the working environment. Lights that meet the standards for glare-free lighting, for example, can be used without any problems even if they are positioned unfavourably in relation to the screen. This is because they do not reflect or only reflect very weakly. When positioning lights in offices or workspaces, care should be taken to ensure intelligent alignment and, at the same time, only lights that meet the standards for glare-free lighting (UGR<19) should be used. This prevents excessive strain on the eyes.
• Flickering light: Tubes and LED light sources often have a specific frequency (light emission repetition rate). If these frequencies are too low, this is suboptimal for the perception of the environment. Even if you cannot actively determine this yourself, your eyes are much more strained in such conditions and are therefore unnecessarily overworked. In offices, you should therefore avoid using cheap light bulbs or high-voltage LED units without transformers, or at least only use them in combination with other high-frequency lights.

The list could go on – unfortunately, there are many things that can go wrong with lighting. The good news, however, is that you can do even more right if you know what to look out for!

Tips for preventing discomfort

As already mentioned, there is no such thing as the perfect light for every situation. If you want to illuminate a room optimally, you should first and foremost consider the purpose the lighting is intended to serve.

Lighting tips for the office

No one has time for annoying headaches or eye strain, especially not in the office. It is particularly important to ensure perfect lighting conditions here, as people usually spend many hours at a time at their desks.

Tip 1: Use different light sources

In addition to general lighting, which is usually provided in the form of ceiling lights, every office should also offer task lighting. This means you should be able to illuminate your workspace with a desk lamp so that you can control the lighting conditions in your immediate surroundings yourself. People who are particularly sensitive should try switching to suitable task lighting if they experience discomfort, as this is the quickest solution and is also very effective. There are high-quality LED reading lights available for this purpose, which can also be adjusted in terms of light colour (e.g. Luceplan Otto Watt).

Tip 2: Optimise the type of light

If possible, desks should ideally be positioned parallel to the window. This allows you to benefit from daylight without being blinded. Of course, this is not possible in every office, but you can at least optimise the lighting by positioning the desk lamp opposite your writing hand. This prevents cast shadows when writing. In any case, you should avoid sitting with your face directly towards the window. Direct sunlight makes it almost impossible to concentrate on the screen without great effort.

This also includes the ability to regulate natural daylight as well as artificial light. Sun visors, dimmers, etc. allow you to shield the respective light source, thereby significantly reducing strain on the eyes. Highly innovative systems can even measure the light intensity in the room itself and only emit as much light as is actually needed. This not only saves electricity, but also creates optimal working conditions. In addition, these systems can adjust the light colours throughout the day to simulate natural sunlight from morning to evening. This is very good for concentration and also prevents sleep problems that can occur in the evening due to incorrect lighting, thanks to natural, cool light colours.

Tip 3: Choose the right light colours

You can also achieve a lot with the light colour, i.e. the warmth or coolness of the light source. Warm white light is relaxing, while cool white light promotes a working atmosphere. Neutral or daylight white are also suitable for the office, but these light colours are not to everyone's taste. So make sure you have optimised space lighting, especially with more modern ceiling lights.

Lighting tips for the home

Light colours also play an important role in private spaces, as they contribute significantly to the atmosphere in a room. Accordingly, different lighting accents can also be used to combat headaches and eye strain. If in doubt, it is best to eliminate all strongly glaring lights. This includes, for example, models with exposed light sources. Here, the light is usually concentrated on a very small area, which in turn leads to a glaring effect.

Tip 4: Plan for additional light sources

As in the office, it is a good idea to create individual lighting options for the home. In the kitchen, for example, this could be special LED strips hidden under the shelves as furniture lights in addition to LED ceiling lighting. If necessary, they ensure that the cupboards do not cast shadows and that you have a good view when cooking.

Tip 5: Enhance the room atmosphere with light

The right lighting contributes greatly to relaxation. So give your head and eyes a break after work and create harmonious lighting accents in your living and sleeping areas. Warm white LED spotlights or indirect light strips soften the blue light from the television or act as gentle background lighting when you use a reading lamp with direct light.

The right lighting to combat headaches and other problems

You can't see them, but that makes them all the more unpleasant: headaches and sore eyes can have a significant impact on your well-being. However, with the right lighting, you can usually do a lot to counteract or prevent this negative effect. Ensure that both your workplace and your home can be lit as individually as possible: this will allow you to relieve strain on your eyes at any time and permanently improve your quality of life!