A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that employees who work in a windowless office are more likely to perform poorly on health assessments and less likely to get the recommended eight hours of sleep per night.

In the past, a corner office was a coveted spot — not only for the views but also for the status. But, today, researchers say, "employers should look at daylight exposure less as a mark of accomplishment and more as a matter of public health."

Researchers including architects and medical personnel conducted a small pilot study comparing employees exposed to natural light, to those who were not. The window workers socrred better on self-reported health and sleep survey and slept an average of 46 minutes more a night, according to Fast Company, who reported on the findings.

"We really wanted to look at some health issues related to lack of natural light in people's lives in general," Mohamed Boubekri, study leader and architectural scholar at the University of Illinois, told the publication. "The reason why we selected office buildings is because … that's where most of us spend a good chunk of our lives."

Overall, workers who basked in natural light appeared to sleep better, were more active and had higher quality-of-life ratings than those who work under those artificial and fluorescent lights. Researchers have also linked natural light to boosts in worker productivity.

"Some say we spend 90 percent of our lives indoors," says Boubekri. "It's very, very significant. The health benefits of exposure to daylight during the work day extend beyond the work week."

According to the article, commercial buildings often lack windows due to cost. Buildings without windows cost an average of 20 percent less per square foot.

As researchers emphasize the negative affects of unnatural lighting, other groups are vying to add windows for other reasons, including for energy conservation and as a method to cut utility costs.

"In an era where we're trying to limit consumption of fossil energy resources, we really should be thinking in a different way about these things," Boubekri says. "Not just using electric light to light our lives."

To read the article in its entirety, click here.


Source: Fast Company