I’ve referred to my home office under the stairs as being Harry Potteresque as if you added a door it would be literally the space where Harry lives in The Philosopher’s Stone. There is no natural light and it can be so flipping dark. Not surprisingly the darkness can have a detrimental effect on my mood, health and productivity. Not long after moving into the space I researched changing the lightbulbs to LED daylight ones these altered that artificial orange glow to a whiter light, this did make a difference to my productivity. However the change in light depth when you move from the office to the outside is really apparent. When the opportunity arose to try a desk lamp from Needlite with their tagline “The power of daylight at your desk”, I literally jumped at the chance.
Who are Needlite? :
Needlite are a small, Danish start-up producing simple, modern design no-glare daylight desk lamps. The idea is simple, to provide the user with efficient work light and provide much needed daylight at the same time. But most importantly to Needlite is that this is achieved in a form and shape that encourages the lamp to be used and not the opposite.
Nordic countries have a severe lack of daylight even during the summer months and hey let’s face the UK isn’t much better. Blink and you miss our summer. Given that the daylight and sunshine hours are rare it’s crazy to think we spend the majority of that time indoors with poor lighting.
Why do we need to work in natural light? :
Natural light improves our mood and reduces our stress levels. When you work all day sat by yourself in your home office these two things mood and stress can be a huge trigger in how we function. We are biological beings and need daylight in the form of vitamin D. The lack of light has a severe impact on our performance, energy, mood, digestion, sleep, and recovery from illness. When you think about it daylight plays a huge role in your overall health and it’s free. But as for so many other effects and implication of modern lifestyle we either do not notice or simply neglect the effects.
Do you get enough of daylight? Indoor light can’t compensate. See more at http://t.co/9Jk97jKxiQ #daylightatyourdesk pic.twitter.com/koQ3bnj2NC
— Needlite (@needlite) December 9, 2014
Working from home :
Needlite comes with a full set of instructions on how to set up the lights. The diagram shows the positioning on either side of the computer screen the angle and distance, however after a few days I moved the lights to behind me. I found them too distracting as my desk is quite short and I like to move the laptop around. I kept looking at the lights rather than working. I have found them much better behind me and I surprised at how my productivity and mood has changed.
You can even use an iPhone app to control the lamps which give the user feedback on light consumption and usage. Needlite uses the exact right colour temperature of 6,500 kelvin which is not reflecting on the screen or in the way when editing. I love the touch control to adjust the light makes it feel like a high tec piece of kit.
Needlite is also suitable as work light for photographers, art directors and other professionals who working with pictures or graphics on screen and need to control the surrounding light in strength and colour.
The power of daylight increases your energy, increases your performance and overall makes you feel much better. So if you suffer from the afternoon grumps, slumps and generally feel super tired it could be the lack of daylight and an under performing artificial light source.
Don’t worry though UK based individuals you cab still get your hands on a Needlite from online retailer Wellworking RRP £399.
I was sent a Needlite in order to give a fair and honest review.