PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Department of Energy grant is funding Jefferson University's study of lighting systems, to find out if they can improve your health by just flicking a switch.
Lighting companies sell fluorescent or LED systems that some claim will benefit workers on the job.
But do they?
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The $1.6 million grant will fund a three-year study to find that out.
"Lighting companies are looking to sell systems, and part of the draw of selling a system is the ability to control wavelength and intensity very exquisitely," said Dr. John Hanifin, assistant professor of Neurology and co-director of the light research program at Thomas Jefferson University.
"There's some claims that this ability can improve the health and wellness of the workers and the people who live under that lighting."
He said it's possible that changing the type of lighting at different times could make a difference.
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"Potentially, they could sleep better and some studies have already pointed in that direction," Dr. Hanifin said.
"The metabolic parameters will allow them to process their food better, so there'd be less of a disruption of their physiological systems. That disruption has been associated with certain cancers, heart disease and metabolic disorders, like diabetes."
During the study, participants stay at the light research lab for two seven-day periods, living with different lighting conditions as researchers measure how they respond.
