If your office is a cold, dark cave, chances are you’re not working as productively as you could be. The Buffer blog explains the science of how temperature and lighting affect our brains, and what you can do to tweak your work environment for better productivity.
Picture: Nicholas Todd
This probably won’t come as a shock to you, but natural light trumps artificial or dim light. Not only does natural lighting look and feel better, too much artificial or dim light makes us less alert by the evening, according to a study by scientist Mirjam Muench. Even worse, poor or artificial lighting makes us feel more stressed, thanks to the cortisol drops under those conditions.
Pointing to another study, Leo Widrich writes on Buffer that if the temperature is too low in your office, you’re likely to make more mistakes than if you were working in a room with optimal temperature (20C). So warmer is better than colder, but we’ve also previously seen that if it’s too warm (over 25C), productivity will drop as well.
So what does this all mean, and what can you do about it even if you can’t control the temperature or light in your office? Buffer offers a few tips:
- Wake up before the sun rises. Those extra hours in natural daylight can help stabilise your body’s cortisol levels.
- Use a small portable heater in your office in the winter.
They also recommend using lensed-indirect light instead of direct lighting for an almost daylight-like lighting environment, but I’m not sure you can control that in your office either. Full spectrum bulbs or lamps that mimic natural daylight might help though.
Hit up the link below for more information.
The science of how temperature and lighting impacts our productivity [Buffer]
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