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Cited by 418Circadian rhythm and melatoninSleep and Work-Related FatigueFacilities and Workplace Management

Impact of Windows and Daylight Exposure on Overall Health and Sleep Quality of Office Workers: A Case-Control Pilot Study

Open access
Boubekri, Mohamed, Cheung, Ivy N., Reid, Kathryn J., Wang, Chia-Hui, Zee, Phyllis C.·2014·Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
DOI 10.5664/jcsm.3780PMC PMC4031400
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Abstract

Study objective This research examined the impact of daylight exposure on the health of office workers from the perspective of subjective well-being and sleep quality as well as actigraphy measures of light exposure, activity, and sleep-wake patterns.Methods Participants (N = 49) included 27 workers working in windowless environments and 22 comparable workers in workplaces with significantly more daylight. Windowless environment is defined as one without any windows or one where workstations were far away from windows and without any exposure to daylight. Well-being of the office workers was measured by Short Form-36 (SF-36), while sleep quality was measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). In addition, a subset of participants (N = 21; 10 workers in windowless environments and 11 workers in workplaces with windows) had actigraphy recordings to measure light exposure, activity, and sleep-wake patterns.Results Workers in windowless environments reported poorer scores than their counterparts on two SF-36 dimensions--role limitation due to physical problems and vitality--as well as poorer overall sleep quality from the global PSQI score and the sleep disturbances component of the PSQI. Compared to the group without windows, workers with windows at the workplace had more light exposure during the workweek, a trend toward more physical activity, and longer sleep duration as measured by actigraphy.Conclusions We suggest that architectural design of office environments should place more emphasis on sufficient daylight exposure of the workers in order to promote office workers' health and well-being.

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  • Natural daylight at high intensities as experienced outside buildings improves sleep quality.

    “Natural daylight at high intensities as experienced outside buildings has previously been shown to (1) advance the timing of sleep to earlier hours, (2) affect the duration of sleep, and (3) improve sleep quality.”

    From Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood (2019) · cites this paper as [16]

    The Discussion (page not provided) reports that office workers with greater workplace light exposure had better overall sleep-quality scores than workers without windows. It does not establish that high-intensity daylight experienced outdoors improves sleep quality; the authors say further research is needed to determine beneficial light intensities. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Daytime exposure to white light enriched in short-wavelength content is associated with increased sleep quality.

    “Several studies report that daytime exposure to white light enriched in short-wavelength content was associated with increased evening fatigue [91], and sleep quality [16, 39, 91], decreased sleep-onset latency [39], and increased slow-wave sleep accumulation [92], which is related to the dissipation of the homeostatic sleep pressure [1, 14, 34].”

    From Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood (2019) · cites this paper as [16]

    The Discussion reports that office workers with windows had more workplace light exposure and better overall sleep-quality scores than workers without windows. But the study did not test short-wavelength-enriched white light: the Discussion says its measurements could not distinguish daylight from artificial light or analyze specific wavelengths. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Exposure to daylight increases sleep duration, possibly by advancing sleep timing.

    “Likewise, exposure to daylight has been shown to increase sleep duration, possibly by advancing sleep timing [16].”

    From Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood (2019) · cites this paper as [16]

    The Abstract reports longer actigraphy-measured sleep duration among office workers with windows and more workplace light exposure. The Sleep Quality of the Two Groups of Workers section reports no significant difference in sleep onset time, so it does not establish that earlier sleep timing explains the longer sleep. The case-control comparison also does not establish that daylight caused the increase. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Thayer BM. Daylighting and Productivity at Lockheed. Solar Today 1995;9:26-29.
  2. Åkerstedt T, Czeisler C, Dinges D, Horne J. Accidents and sleepiness: A consensus statement. At: International Conference on Work Hours, Sleep and Accidents. Stockholm, Sweden: J Sleep Res 1994;3.
  3. Kripke D, Mullaney D, Savides TJ, Gillin JC. Phototherapy for nonseasonal major depressive disorders. In: Rosenthal N, Blehar N, eds. Phototherapy for nonseasonal major depressive disorders. New York: The Guilford Press, 1989:342-56.

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Authors
Boubekri, M., Cheung, I. N., Reid, K. J., Wang, C.-H., & Zee, P. C.
Affiliations
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
  • Northwestern University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2014-06-15
Volume
10
Issue
6
Pages
603-611
ISSN
  • 1550-9389 (ISSN-L)
  • 1550-9397
DOI
10.5664/jcsm.3780
PMC
PMC4031400
OpenAlex
W2024191758
Cited by
418
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 49 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3
FWCI
4.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (P01AG011412)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (5T32 HL790915, T32HL007909)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Facilities and Workplace Management
Keywords
daylight exposure, windows, office workers, sleep quality, subjective well-being, light exposure, physical activity, sleep-wake patterns, office architecture, role limitations, vitality
MeSH terms
Adult, Facility Design and Construction, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pilot Projects, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sleep, Sunlight, Case-Control Studies, Workplace, Young Adult, Actigraphy

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