The Importance of Good Home Office Lighting

With the home office now looking like a permanent fixture, it’s important that your setup at home isn’t creating issues with your health. Good home office lighting can ease eye strain and fatigue, as well as aches and pains.

Maybe you’re fully remote or have a hybrid work schedule. Maybe you’re working at your kitchen table or jimmy-rigged your ironing board into a stand-up desk. Whatever the scenario, sufficient lighting around your workspace is the most important part of good ergonomic lighting.

Light generally comes from natural light from a window, indirect light from an overhead fixture, and direct light from a lamp near your work surface. There’s also the light that emanates from your computer screen to consider.

In general, keep lighting levels as even as possible for the task at hand. This means getting rid of dark spots and shadows. To determine problem areas, use your hand to block light from a source. If you feel relief, eliminate or adjust the lighting.

Home Office Lighting Reduces Eye Strain

Glare is the reflection of light off your device screen, making it hard to see clearly and causing eye fatigue. Any light source can create glare, but there are simple adjustments you can make to reduce this annoyance and discomfort.

Natural Light

• Sit at a right angle to the window and at least three feet from it.
• Use window coverings to cut direct sun during peak sun times. Vertical blinds work best for east/west-facing windows. Horizontal blinds are more effective with north/south-facing windows.
• Adjust window coverings as the sun shifts throughout the day.

Overhead Lights

• Try to position your workstation so your computer is not directly under an overhead light.
• Tilt or swivel the monitor to keep the light from shining on your screen.
• Create an awning for the top of your monitor – a file folder can work.
• Try an anti-glare filter.

Task Lights/Desk Lamps

• Opt for a “gooseneck” lamp, which allows you to adjust the beam of light.
• Don’t point the bulb toward the computer screen.
• Adjust the angle of the lamp away from your monitor.
• Tilt or swivel the monitor to reduce glare.

Computer Light

Light from computers and other electronic devices is unavoidable and known to create eye fatigue, blurred vision, and sleep disruption, but you can take steps to lessen its impact.

• Adjust your monitor’s contrast and brightness to offer the most light without blurring.
• Aim for the screen’s brightness to equal the area directly behind it.
• Turn off lamps or under-shelf lighting behind your monitor.
• If you wear eyeglasses, try anti-reflective lenses. They reduce glare, increase contrast, and may also help reduce exposure to blue light.
• Try computer glasses. Their yellow-tinted lenses can reduce blue light and increase contrast.

Check out our tips for improving your home workstation set-up to ease aches from head to toe.