Now more than ever, people are spending most of their time indoors. Whether that consists of working from home or quarantining to stay healthy, we may be missing out on crucial benefits of the outdoors. Specifically, our bodies are lacking the many benefits of natural light. The continued trend towards spending time indoors, paired with the fact that Seattle receives the 8^th lowest amount of sunlight in the U.S. results in a surprising amount of health risks.

While Seattle may offer stunning natural views, beautiful summers, and a (usually) bustling city life, the winters bring less desirable impacts. Studies have shown that longer winter nights and less natural light exposure are the direct cause of Seasonal Affective Disorder (or SAD) and the Winter Blues. According to the University of Washington, while SAD rates are as low as 2% down in Florida, Seattle rates are up to 10%, while a staggering 30% of the population suffer from the Winter Blues.

Thankfully, the answer to this problem is as simple as it seems. Increased exposure to natural light has been proven to combat the symptoms and effects of SAD and Winter Blues, while offering other positive benefits. A few of these include increased productivity, creativity, and work quality. Furthermore, natural light has been correlated with other health benefits, such as a stronger immune system, reduced stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, and increased concentration ability.

Due to this discovery, many large companies including Facebook, Apple, Nike, and Google have begun implementing lighting that emulates the natural light we experience outside. While COVID-19 has pushed much of the work force to move into their work-from-home setups, luckily that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on natural light within your own home.

Thanks to new technology, it’s possible to enjoy natural lighting within your own home and office. Ketra lighting, a company solely devoted to the advancement of light technology, has created bulbs capable of perfectly replicating the natural light, rate, and color temperature (K) that we observe outside. Ketra bulbs are fully tunable, LED light that mimic natural light better than any other light source on the market. Suddenly, it’s possible to create and control Ketra’s natural light with the touch of a button.