Fluorescent lighting uses a combination of gases and electricity to light up. Under normal circumstances, that combination of gases and electricity would continue to grow brighter and brighter. Still, modern fluorescent lights use a “ballast” device to regulate the intensity of light coming off the bulb. However, when electricity amounts fluctuate, that same ballast can quickly flip your fluorescent light on and off, creating an almost imperceptible strobe effect. This, coupled with the fact that most fluorescent lighting is too bright for most workstations, adds up to be one major headache. Literally.
Even if you cannot perceive the flicker, your brain can still process it. Like subliminal messaging, the flash of light is there and gone before you can recognize it, but the message still gets through. This repeated strobbing of the light can cause headaches, eye strain, and other stress and fatigue-inducing symptoms as your body tries to manage the sudden change in lighting. It can elicit changes in mood or contribute to that down-in-the-dumps feeling you get towards the end of the day.
One of the major factors that a fluorescent strobe can play into is sore or strained eyes. Your eyes and brain have to focus and refocus or work extra hard to keep your pupil appropriately dilated for the changing light conditions.
LED Lighting does not use the same method of creating light, instead using the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material, not a filament like traditional light bulbs (which can burn out) or through a gas like fluorescent lighting. This means that LED Lighting doesn’t need a ballast, and won’t flicker on and off like a fluorescent light, meaning no mini-strobe and no headaches.
If you are interested in LED Lighting alternatives for your home, office, or school, contact us soon!
