Lights Out - The Nature of Things

by elizabeth on December 8, 2012
Filed Under: BLOGSPOT

Did anyone else watch David Suzuki's The Nature of Things, the other night? What a fascinating show about the effects of light on human beings. The episode called Lights Out introduced the discussion about how our bodies react to our modern world of gadgets, increasing our amounts of light exposure.

Cancer, particularly breast cancer has been on the rise, as well as obesity; all of us inherently know this as we see it affect the lives of those around us. Scientists started investigating and an unusual link to the invention of the light bulb and where electricity is cheap and plentiful, was a direct match to where these health issues were on the increase.

Anyone who is a shift worker also can speak to how difficult the change in sleep patterns are. The piece that I found very interesting was the use of special goggles/glasses and specific colored light, could help. The scientists determined that the crisp clear blue morning light affected the circadian cycle, by decreasing certain hormones, while the reds of sunsets and of fire – the original traditional lighting source, before electricity - was actually beneficial in helping people fall asleep and initiate the proper night time hormone cycle. These hormones keep us healthy and could actually prevent cancers from taking hold. Pretty amazing!

Being the stained glass artist that I am, with a great love of Chartres cathedral, I was struck by the insight of how the stained glass in Chartres, dark like the womb, even on a sunny day, with stained glass windows almost completely constructed with red and blue – how incredibly healing these windows likely were on an entirely new level. Now easily explained by what the scientists were discovering.

I'd suggest every glass worker have a look at this program – it just might affect how you see your work being more than just something decorative – and potentially healing as well.