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Brighten Your Days and Nights With Lighting
Light is essential to vision. The quality and quantity of the light needed for comfortable, useful vision varies from person to person and becomes particularly important when vision is impaired.
On average, older people need about three times as much light as those who are younger. But few people are average. Three times the light may be a good starting point for adjusting the amount of light, but ultimately an individual must be comfortable and must be able to accomplish visual tasks under those conditions. It's important to evaluate visual performance and comfort under varying lighting conditions to decide what works best for you.
For instance, people with glaucoma often require much higher light levels, while those with central cataract may do better with lower light.
When the days get shorter, the need to make the most of light, whether natural or artificial, becomes more pronounced, especially for people with vision problems.
"The amount and quality of available light can make a tremendous difference in how well we see and manage daily activities, indoors and outside," notes Betty Bird, Ed.D., Senior Vice President for Rehabilitation Programs at the New York Lighthouse. "Sometimes simple changes can greatly enhance a person's ability to complete a task."
For example, when reading print or handwritten material, you may want to try using a clear yellow acetate sheet. This easy adaptation, available where office supplies are sold, helps to reduce glare and increase contrast.
Here are some other suggestions that individuals with vision problems -- as well as their friends and families -- are sure to find helpful:
- Glare results when light (natural or artificial) shines directly
into your eyes or reflects off shiny or polished metal surfaces, such
as tabletops and floors. Use a tablecloth to cut the glare from a
formica table.
- Keep lights on during the day to equalize lighting from indoor
and outdoor sources. When arranging a room to be used for reading or
working, don't face the windows. Seat yourself so that windows are
behind you or to your side. If that's not possible, use blinds or
shades to control the light during daylight hours.
- Light from lamps or fixtures should be positioned directly
onto the task (book, newspaper, playing cards, hobby/craft, etc.).
Gooseneck, adjustable arm, and clip-on lamps offer good flexibility. In
dimly-lit restaurants use a pocket flashlight.
- When reading or working outside, use a visor to shut out sky light glare.
- Incandescent lamps or "warm" fluorescents may cause less glare
to a person with cataracts than "daylight" fluorescents. Incandescent
lamps may be easier to adjust because they tend to be smaller, and can
be moved easily and controlled with dimmers. However, they're less
efficient and radiate more heat, which may be a problem if a lamp has
to be positioned close to the user's face or body.
If a complete rearrangement of lighting isn't possible, try adding an incandescent or fluorescent table lamp. This may be particularly useful in older, fluorescent-ceiling-lighted rooms.
- When located within one foot of the reading material, a
standard 60, 75, or 100 watt bulb or a 50 to 65 watt indoor reflector
bulb may be adequate. However, 300 watts or more may be needed in a
floor lamp to achieve comparable light. Chromalux bulbs (60 or 100
watts) work well for some individuals with macular degeneration.
Halogen lamps, a type of incandescent lamp, used in the proper fixture,
are safe and efficient, and can provide high-intensity light in a small
space.
- A type of fluorescent bulb is now available as a direct,
screw-in replacement for some incandescent bulbs. These bulbs consume
from one-sixth to one-tenth as much electricity, radiate very little
heat, and, although expensive, last about 10 times as long as the
conventional incandescent bulbs. In addition, these modern
tri-phosphor compact fluorescent bulbs provide light very close to the
quality of incandescent. They provide excellent color rendition - food
looks natural, colors look normal - and offer a "comfortable"
atmosphere for most people.
- Under-counter lighting can increase visibility for kitchen, study or work areas.
- Whatever the lighting arrangement, as task lighting is increased, so should the surrounding room lighting. For example, avoid using a very bright lamp in a dark room.
Finally, these are guidelines and not set rules. Discuss your lighting needs with your low vision specialist. You may have to experiment with various types and levels of lighting to find the combination that provides the most comfort and best performance.