Blue light can make you work harder, and Philips’ new ActiViva luminaires are being used to prove it in warehouses and call centres. Will Jones reports.

At a warehouse in The Netherlands everything is blue. ‘Hey hey, those liberated Dutch’, I hear you cry, ‘they love their porn!’ But at this distribution outlet in Brabant everything is blue, illuminated from above in an eerie Azure hue. Operatives work at packing tables filling, labelling and sealing boxes: they don’t mind the strange light, they don’t even seem to notice the remarkable shift from normal to artificial lighting.

The reason for this unusual lighting installation is that the warehouse is participating in a test for Philips’ new ActiViva lamps. The Dutch lighting giant has developed TL5 and TL-D lamps in response to a scientific breakthrough that has changed the way in which we look at colour, and its effects on the brain.

Originally, the parcel packaging warehouse was illuminated using 128 Master TL-D 58W/840 fluorescent lamps in batten fittings and 72 additional Master TL5 HO 49W/840 lamps in rows above each line of packing tables. The average light level at table height was between 500 and 1000 lux. The office at the plant had a similar installation of 72 Master TL5 HE 35W/830 fluorescent lamps, again in rows above desks. Here, the average lux level was between 700 and 800.

In two four-week test periods, Philips swapped the original lamps for the corresponding ActiViva Active versions - 128 Master TL-D ActiViva Active 58W, and 72 Master TL5 ActiViva Active 49W lamps in the warehouse and 72 Master TL5 ActiViva Active 35W in the office. The lamps fit into existing fixtures, so the installation was done impressively quickly, and then redone to check the response of those working within the warehouse.

Fadma de Vries, who works on the parcel packing table, says: “When they first installed the new lighting, we were like ‘ooh, this is not going to be nice to work under’. It was very blue. But, after one or two hours we got really used to it and it was great. The light makes you feel better. It is the blue colour like the sky that makes you work more happily and helps you concentrate.”

The test results indicate a 10% increase in workers’ performance levels. People also felt more active and alert working under the blue lighting and fewer headaches were reported.

But what elicited this response? How can blue light possibly make you feel better and work harder? The ActiViva range is a blue-rich light source that recreates the light levels and colour temperatures that mimic natural daylight. This illumination stimulates receptors within the eye, suppressing melatonin and promoting alertness and vitality.

It sounds simple, but the science behind it is quite remarkable. Our internal body clock governs the physiological processes telling us when to sleep and when to wake. This is called a circadian rhythm. Although internally generated, it is modulated by external cues such as daylight and temperature.

These stimuli have been investigated following the discovery of a new receptor within the eye. Derk-Jan Dijk, professor of sleep and physiology and director of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey explains: “In non-mammalian species extra-ocular photoreception has been well established. However, until recently, it was thought that in mammals all light reception was mediated by the rods and cones. That was until Dr David Berson of Brown University, Rhode Island, discovered the light sensitive ganglion cells in mammalian retina in 2002.”

The rods and cones, first discovered in the 18th Century, pick up low light levels and colours, respectively. Together they convert light into neurological signals which the brain translates into images. However, this new type of photo-sensitive ganglion cell is tuned into natural ‘blue’ daylight. “Blue light at a wavelength of 460 nanometers affects brainwaves and activity in certain areas of the brain,” says Professor Dijk. “It is very effective at suppressing melatonin.”

Melatonin is the hormone that promotes drowsiness and sleep. Therefore, the less melatonin produced, the more lively and alert you feel. Academics and the lighting profession were quick to realise the potential of this ‘blue light’ receptor. Philips has worked with universities from across the globe to develop an artificial light which will mimick and intensify the ‘blue’ daylight, to produce a product that will promote feelings of well-being and reinvigorate, making people feel more alert.

Philips’ new ActiViva Natural and Active lamps provide natural cool light with 25% and 85% more blue light, respectively. ActiViva Natural can be combined with other lamp types to brighten spaces, while Active should be installed throughout any space in which it is fitted.

Over 80% of those involved in the Brabant warehouse study voted to keep the ActiViva lighting. Wim Schot, office employee at the warehouse, says: “You feel much more like you are working in a daylight situation. In general, I can say that I feel much more energetic in the afternoon, when normally I would begin to feel tired. I feel better and because of this I work better for longer.”

Light fantastic?

Philips is keen to promote ActiViva but with this kind of technology it knows there will be doubters. Forseeing this, the company teamed up with population health management specialist, Vielife, to set up a controlled test to establish ActiViva's credentials.

At a call centre in Stockport, two floors of operatives were assessed at the start of the experiment for their health-related quality of life and self-recorded performance rates. Then, half of the staff worked for three months in a space lit by conventional light sources, while half worked under ActiViva Active lighting.

The two groups were reassessed regularly during the trial on how they felt, on their perceived performance, memory and fatigue levels. And, all the while, the rolling call-handling data from each operative was being monitored.
Dr Peter Mills, chief health officer at Vielife, says: "Recent discoveries show that light has an impact not just on what we see but also on our biological functioning.

The shorter wavelengths, the blues, which are not present in traditional artificial lighting have an effect that is difficult to quantify but which does have an impact on us."

At the end of the study the operatives who had been working in the ActiViva Active lighting reported, on average, a perceived performance level of 19% better; concentration 37% higher; 27% less fatigue; and 21% better memory. More conclusively, the rolling call data recorded a reduction of 0.53% in unanswered calls per person per week.

Not much I hear you cry but that equates to 18 calls per operative. Multiply this by the 69 workers tested and 1182 more calls were answered each week by those working in this new blue environment.

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Electrical and Mechanical Contractor