I continue to be fascinated by the connection of lighting and health. I remember attending a lecture on the topic about twenty years ago at LightFair and it opened up a wide avenue of thought. If you read these blog postings regularly, you know that the topic is a reoccurring feature. This one came to me totally out of the blue. Neither my wife, nor I contracted COVID. We remained stubbornly healthy, despite people all around us succumbing to the virus. For that reason, I haven’t really thought about it much. Nonetheless, for the handful of people who have “Long COVID” it does appear to be quite devastating. I can’t imagine the worst flu you’ve ever had hanging on for months. It seems unbearable.
When I read the medical study, “The possibility of circadian rhythm disruption in long COVID” I was intrigued, but not necessarily surprised. Since my first exposure to the power of the circadian cycle and all of the subsequent research, we are learning more and more about the healthy power of light. As research enlarges, we might just find out that the move from an agrarian society to a manufacturing economy, now to a service economy is having a substantial impact on our bodies. Because we are not outside enough and because the artificial light we use does not contain a full enough spectrum of light, our bodies are revolting in interesting and amazing ways.
Solutions are coming to the rescue and they do not involve each one of us becoming farmers again. (Thanks for that; my green thumb is actually gangrene.) At the recently concluded MWC Barcelona tech fair, a Dutch tech start-up introduced SunBooster, a computer mounted devise intent on delivering Near Infrared light (NIR.) (You may have read my very recent blog post on this topic https://lightingbyjeffrey.com/2025/03/17/light-and-health-and-infrared-light/ While working at your indoor job typically at the computer, the devise passively delivers the needed NIR light at a targeted wavelength of 850nm. Help, you didn’t even know you needed, delivered in a way you won’t notice.
Like the GUV equipment introduced mid-pandemic, expect more IR tools to appear as we unearth more knowledge about its impact. As I have mentioned many times prior, the facts may arrive slowly as scientists work carefully to determine the best way to solve the problem. As lighting professionals, we should keep our eye on the pulse of new developments, in service of the end consumer.
Want to read the entire paper on long COVID:
An article covering the release of SunBooster:
Lighting by Jeffrey 
2 replies on “Health and Lighting…Again”
where can we find your CEU lighting webinars since Lumens no longer sponsors them?
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Hi Sandra!
As I understand, Lumens will be added sessions in the second half of 2025. My wife and I are moving (a short distance) and the move is all consuming (as you might imagine!) Our move and their schedule coincided perfectly. I hope to “see” you later this year!
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