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 Senior Housing
Lighting an Important Consideration for Senior
Citizens' Homes
Growing field of
study to make homes more livable for the elderly
May 5, 2006 Like so many other things that are
changing to meet the needs of an aging society, home design has also
become a major focus. Senior citizens have a multitude of needs to make
their homes more livable - like good light - and to allow them to stay in their homes
longer, rather than move to community housing. This need has fostered
several organizations that focus on making private homes and community
homes more senior friendly.
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"Older people require three times the amount of
light to see as well as younger people, but are more sensitive to
glare," writes one of the experts on design for the elderly, Margaret P.
Calkins, Ph.D.
"People with dementia have impaired contrast
perception, which makes it harder to see the edges of objects,
particularly when the foreground (object) and background are similar
color and value," she writes in a report called "Using Color as a
Therapeutic Tool."
She says, "This is particularly important when
designing to support functional independence.
● Chair seats should contrast with the floor to
people can see where the edge of the chair is.
● Sink basins should contrast with the surrounding counter/vanity top.
● Toilets (or toilet seats) should contrast with both the floor and
surrounding walls to make them more visible.
● Table settings should provide high contrast between the plates
(usually white or pale colored) and the table/tablecloth/placemat (dark
color).
● Colors that are a mix of hues from the opposite side of the color
wheel (such as red and green, or yellow and blue) will appear
particularly muddy, and thus be less attractive, to older individuals
whose lens is yellowed.
According to the Center of Design For An Aging
Society in Portland, Oregon, older people need more light for both
vision and maintaining health.
As people age the eye lenses thicken and the pupils
shrink. This causes eyes of senior citizens to adapt more slowly to
changing light conditions and increases the need for more light, and not
just for vision and safety.
Many senior citizens dont get outside enough, so
there are many reasons to consider bringing more natural light in.
Seniors need vitamin D for calcium to be absorbed by the body to
strengthen teeth, bones and tissue to maintain a healthy skeleton
throughout life. Two sources of vitamin D are diet and sunlight.
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More on Senior
Housing Design |
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International
Symposium on Design for the Aging
The International Symposium
on Design for the Aging will be held on June 5 and 6 in Overland
Park, Kansas. It is sponsored by the Aging Research Institute
and the Design for Aging Knowledge Community. The symposium will
feature an interactive program, inviting participants to "show
and tell" about recently designed enhancements in their
facilities for the aging. For more information
click here.
Design for Aging,
American Institute of Architects
The mission of the Design
for Aging (DFA) Knowledge Community is to foster design
innovation and disseminate knowledge necessary to enhance the
built environment and quality of life for an aging society. Click
to site.
IDEAS Institute
The mission of IDEAS
Institute is to provide solutions that improve the life of older
adults through the conduct of rigorous applied research.
Click to site
American Association
of Homes and Services for the Aging
The members of the American
Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (www.aahsa.org)
serve two million people every day through mission-driven,
not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing the services
people need, when they need them, in the place they call home.
Our members offer the continuum of aging services: adult day
services, home health, community services, senior housing,
assisted living residences, continuing care retirement
communities, and nursing homes. AAHSA's commitment is to create
the future of aging services through quality people can trust.
Click to site |
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In healthy human bodies, 80 percent of vitamin D is
produced in the skin when it is exposed to natural light.
A vitamin D deficiency can contribute to the
brittle-bone disease osteoporosis, a major issue of aging, particularly
for women.
And the benefits of having abundant daylight in our
homes arent just physical.
Studies show that Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD), evidenced by emotional depression, a drop in physical energy,
increased appetite, and need for more sleep, is directly linked to a
lack of sufficient daylight.
Some researchers are concluding that light therapy
may help to alleviate SAD symptoms faster than antidepressant drugs. In
a review of clinical trials of light therapy, Dr. Daniel Kripke at the
University of California, San Diego reported that light therapy benefits
not only SAD patients but also people suffering from other forms of
depression.
Sunlight can enter our dwellings and be balanced
through the use of windows, doors and skylights.
According to Joe Patrick, senior product manager
with VELUX America, marketer of roof windows and skylights, skylights
admit 30 percent more light than vertical windows in dormers, and
provide the drama of a sky view that cant be achieved with vertical
windows.
Skylights also offer much more privacy than
vertical windows without taking up valuable wall space that can be used
for decorating or storage, Patrick says, a real benefit as seniors
downsize living spaces.
And from an economic standpoint, Patrick points
out, venting skylights admit light from above and reduce energy costs
while transforming living areas into bright, safer spaces. And they
provide a dose of the medicine that daylight and fresh air offer, he
says.
Its also a way to stretch fixed-income dollars,
Patrick says, with a one-time purchase that pays benefits over time by
reducing energy costs.
A news release from Velux says, "
now is a
particularly good time to consider upgrading existing skylights or
adding new units to qualify for a tax credit of up to $200 under the
Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005."
About information source:
For more information on the benefits of natural
light and skylight selection call 1-800-283-2831 or visit
www.veluxusa.com. For government information on window and skylight
energy efficiency visit
www.energystar.gov, and for independent agency information visit
www.nfrc.org or
www.efficientwindows.org.
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