The Benefits of Natural Light in Your Home

Getting more natural light into their home is a priority for many homeowners. Skylights aren’t just trendy—they have become a longstanding staple of home improvement projects, likely due to the huge health and mood benefits they bring. Never mind that natural light makes a room look larger and emphasizes the fresh and clean aspects of modern home décor. What can skylights bring into your home? Here are the benefits of natural light in your home:

Vitamin D and Health Benefits

Our bodies need natural light into order to make an essential nutrient, vitamin D. For those who work in offices or who simply don’t get to spend much time outdoors, getting natural light in their home may be the best way to meet their vitamin D needs.

Also, natural light benefits mood. If you are one of the millions of Americans who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, you may feel sad, or even outright depressed, when you do not spend enough time in daylight. A skylight or a natural light lamp can help you treat this condition.

While SAD gets a lot of attention as a natural light related condition, research demonstrates that even if you don’t have SAD you can see health benefits from getting more natural light. For one thing, you may sleep better if you are exposed to more natural light. Natural light can relieve the eyestrain and headaches that can come from looking at screens and papers in unnatural light. You may also avoid the stress response and other negative health affects associated with fluorescent light.

Mood and Productivity

Mental health is just as important as physical health, and natural light can help boost your mood and your productivity. Researchers have found that those who are in a bright room tend to view things more positively. You may feel more alert, focused, and overall happy in natural light.

Research from workplaces and schools has shown that natural light can make focusing and being productive simpler. Those who work at home, even occasionally, may benefit from a skylight in their home office. Skylights above the dining room table, or wherever the kids do their homework, can help them stay focused too.

Home Beauty and Value

If you’ve ever been to an open house, you know how you respond to a dark room. It feels smaller and uglier than it would otherwise. Small, dark rooms, especially those with low ceilings, can benefit from skylights which make them feel larger and may give a view outdoors.

But homes with open floor plans can also benefit from the natural light of a skylight. Adding a skylight to an open plan generally creates a feeling of bringing the outdoors indoors, making an already spacious area feel even larger and more inviting. You can maximize the light throughout large spaces by placing a mirror on the wall nearest to the skylight.

When you have a skylight installed, not only will you feel your home is more valuable, potential buyers may as well. Work with a real estate agent to maximize the location of your skylight and you may be able to sell your home for more.