Lighting Intensity and Color Preferences Among College Students

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the light intensity and light color preferences of college-age students when reading. This study is the first part of a long-term study that will look at lighting preferences of all ages to understand how these preferences change as people age. Understanding light and color needs for people without vision deficits may help occupational therapy practitioners better understand the lighting needs of people with vision deficits.

METHOD: This was a quantitative descriptive study. Variables were compared using t tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) as appropriate. Participants were 48 college students recruited through class presentations about the research and posters. Students interested in the study signed up for a testing time using a sign-up sheet outside a faculty office. The study was approved by the university institutional review board.

Participants signed up for a 5- to 10-min testing time during which they were asked to choose a favored font and print size and then to manipulate the controls of a LuxIQ (Mattingly Low Vision, 2014) to choose a preferred light intensity and color. The LuxIQ is a small boxlike instrument through which users view written material on a table, adjusting the lighting using knobs as they wish. The knobs adjust both the intensity and the color of the light along a scaled ruler marked in Kelvin, lux, and percentage. A data form was used to collect participant information about demographics, vision history, preferred font type and font size, preferred light intensity (from the LuxIQ), and preferred light color (from the LuxIQ).

RESULTS: Participants had an average light intensity preference of 1460.5 lux (SD = 750.9), which is relatively dim. Color preference is divided into two parts: temperature and tint. Mean temperature of preferred light color was 5307.8 Kelvin (SD = 768.4); mean tint was 46.1% (SD = 9.0%), which is a very pale yellow light. Other analyses found that gender, age, minor illness, and corrective lenses had no significant impact on light intensity and color preference.

CONCLUSION: Understanding the lighting needs of the college-age population may be useful when creating work spaces. It will be interesting to compare the lighting preferences of this age group to those of older populations.

IMPACT STATEMENT: Occupational therapy practitioners work with clients who have vision loss, many of whom need adjustments in their home lighting. This study is the beginning of a multiyear study to determine the general lighting needs of individuals throughout the lifespan. The study relates to the emerging practice area of low vision. It provides evidence to help occupational therapy practitioners understand the type of lighting preferred by the college-age population. Practitioners working with clients with vision loss in this age group can use these results to understand how their clients differ from people without vision deficits. The evidence gathered in this study adds to the body of occupational therapy knowledge about low vision.

References

Brawley, E. C. (2009). Enriching lighting design. NeuroRehabilitation, 25, 189–199. https://doi.org/10.3233/NRE-2009-0515

Malcolm, J. F., & Raynham, P. (2014). Assistive lighting for people with sight loss. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 9, 128–135. https://doi.org/10.3109/17483107.2013.781235

Mattingly Low Vision. (2014). LuxIQ new diagnostic system. Retrieved from http://www.mattinglylowvision.com/image/LuxIQ_Flyer_new.pdf

Slay, H. D. (2002). Home-based environmental lighting assessments for people who are visually impaired: Developing techniques and tools. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 96, 109–114.