DAYLIGHT, HUMAN HEALTH, AND DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABLE GREEN BUILDINGS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

As the importance of building indoor environments has increased recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so has the research on the interrelationship among daylight, human health, and building design. More researchers are studying how daylight affects human health and whether currently known daylighting metrics target human health in addition to building environmental performance. This article provides an updated review of the current review of the literature in the field of daylighting design and human health, particularly as it relates to the impact of daylighting on circadian rhythm, sleep quality and performance. The main objective for this study is to analyze the interrelationships between daylight, health, and design. The review of these articles reveals eight different factors relevant to daylight, in terms of the way daylight impacts people’s health, namely light spectrum, light levels, timing and duration of exposure to light. In terms of health impact, these articles outline direct and indirect health outcomes. In addition, our review of the existing literature indicates that there is a lack of proper daylighting metrics as far as design applications.