Do you often feel sleepy or unproductive at work? Poor lighting in your office could be one of the culprits. Whether you have returned to your normal office setting or continue to work from home, it is important to think about the kind of lighting you are using in your office space.

In this Q & A, Mariana Figueiro, PhD, Professor in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Director of the Light and Health Research Center at Mount Sinai, explains how light affects the brain and how exposure to daylight can improve your overall health and mood.

Could the light in my office be making me sleepy?

Yes, absolutely. An office that is too dark can make you feel like crawling back under your covers. That is because light has a profound impact on people.

First, it shifts the timing of your biological clock so that you are in synchrony with your watch. So, when you wake up and open your shades, the light that pours in helps your body confirm that it is seven in the morning and time to get ready for the day.

Second, light has a direct effect on the brain. Similar to a cup of coffee, light makes you more alert. Increasing the amount of light at any time of the day will make you perkier because of the cup-of-coffee effect of light.

During the daytime hours, if you are in a dark room or a low-light level room—like an office with no windows and inadequate lighting—you will tend to be sleepier. To counteract this, I recommend exposing yourself to bright light during the day to both maintain your body’s synchrony with your watch and for the cup-of-coffee effect of light which increases your alertness and makes you less sleepy.

What can I do to reduce fatigue caused by lighting?

While bright light is important during the day, you should avoid being in the direct view of the light source or the light bulb. This can cause eye strain or headaches. Northern exposures from windows will give you the most comfortable light because it provides an indirect light, or diffuse daylight, instead of direct sunlight. That bright, diffuse light is overall more comfortable.

So, to reduce fatigue, increase the amount of diffuse and ambient light and minimize direct pools of light or direct sunlight in the space.

I am a remote worker. What kind of light should I have in my home office?

During the daytime hours you want brighter amounts of light than what you probably have at home. We typically tend to have low-light levels at home, and that is appropriate for the evening hours. But during the daytime, when you’re working, I suggest adding two to four more table or floor lamps near you. This way you’re increasing the amount of ambient light and making your space brighter during the day.

If you can work near a window, specifically a northern exposure window that has daylight (not sunlight) coming in, that is the absolute best light source. It’s bright, it’s the right color, and it’s on at the right time. But if you can’t have daylight, for instance if you are working in a basement, I suggest you use table and floor lamps to brighten up your space.

How does exposure to daylight help regulate my circadian rhythm, or the sleep-wake cycle?

Daylight has a considerable amount of short wavelength or blue light, which is the light that we need to be synchronized with our biological clock. Also, we know that inadequate indoor lighting can make you feel sleepy and, daylight provides a lot of light. For example, on a bright sunny day you get about 50,000 to 100,000 lux [a standard measurement of the amount of light] of daylight, but indoors you probably get 200 to 300 lux reaching your eyes. So that gives you an idea of how much less light we’re getting indoors and how important it is to be exposed to daylight, not only to avoid dozing at work, but to keep your circadian rhythm in synch.

At the Light and Health Research Center, we just finished an interesting study related to this, using “smart” windows in a large building in Reston, Virginia. The smart windows that were installed in the building change the transmittance and the amount of light coming through the windows based on the heat and the sunlight hitting the window. For example, if there’s too much heat or sunlight coming in, the smart windows would reduce the transmittance of heat and light, making it cooler indoors and reducing sunlight coming into the space, which reduces eye strain or other discomfort. As a result, there is no need for window shades and the lights that come in are appropriate for stimulating your circadian system and keeping you alert.

For this study, we compared these “smart” windows to regular, untinted windows with shades. In just one week, we found that people who were exposed to the “smart” window slept better, had fewer feelings of anxiety and depression, and reported feeling more energetic. Daytime light will lead to better nighttime sleep. And when you sleep better, you simply feel better.

I have heard about blue light emitted by my electronic devices. Should I avoid blue light in the evening? Do blue light filters work?

Exposure to blue light is important to keep your circadian rhythm in sync, but too much of this light in the evening can disrupt sleep by suppressing the body’s production of the hormone melatonin. Triggered by darkness, the levels of melatonin in your body typically rise in the evening about a couple of hours prior to your normal bedtime— a signal to your body that it is time to sleep. While daylight is the largest source of blue light, it is also emitted, to a much lesser extent, by florescent lights, LED televisions (the newest sets), and cell phones, as well as computer and tablet screens.

Blue light filters work to a certain extent. We have done some work where we collected data with the iPad Night Shift, which automatically reduces blue light emissions in the evening, and we did see that there is a reduction in the impact on melatonin production, but it’s not perfect.

If you are looking at your cell phone for three hours before going to bed, even with a blue light filter, there will still be an effect on melatonin production. Albeit it’s going to be a smaller effect, but it’s not going to completely take away the problem. It’s better than nothing, so I do recommend using a blue light filter. More importantly, you should also dim down the screen, so that you get less light at your eyes.

If you worry about going to doctor’s appointments, you aren’t alone. Many people feel anxious about upcoming medical appointments and tests. This ‘scanxiety’ affects people of all ages and backgrounds.

It is perfectly normal to be anxious in a medical setting, according to Rachel Kaplan, LCSW, a clinical social worker at The Mount Sinai Hospital, who explains why you may feel uneasy and what you can do to counter those feelings.

Why do people get anxious about going to see the doctor?

There are almost as many reasons for being nervous as there are people who worry. For instance, you might anticipate that your doctor will criticize you for your weight, for smoking, or for another habit. Or you could be scared of needles, blood work, or some other medical test. You might dread hearing a certain diagnosis—or you might know your diagnosis but worry about the treatment plan. You might suspect the doctor still won’t know what’s going on or be reluctant to hear that you are better and will have to ‘fly free’ without regular medical oversight.

Sometimes people are concerned not just about the message, but about who is telling it. If you’re not thrilled with how your medical care has been handled in the past, you might be reluctant to go back. You might anticipate feeling rushed and not getting all the information you need. It is also possible you just don’t like a particular doctor or other health care provider.

Any—or all—of these reasons can leave you feeling disappointed, upset, frustrated, scared, annoyed, or just hopeless.

Sometimes people who are nervous about doctor visits walk in the door with sweaty palms or a knot in the pit of their stomach. Others try to treat ailments by themselves in hopes that they will never have to head into the exam room. Still others make appointments, but keep rescheduling for days, weeks, or even months.

Can ‘scanxiety’ affect how my body feels?

Absolutely. Sometimes, in the days or weeks before an appointment, you might find yourself feeling on edge, irritable, or you could have difficulty sleeping. When you actually get to the office, you might notice your muscles are tensing. It’s possible that you will start breathing quickly or taking shallow breaths. You could feel it in the pit of your stomach or in your bladder, with a sudden and urgent need to go to the bathroom. It might even raise your blood pressure. When your blood pressure goes up while you are in the doctor’s office, we use the term “white coat hypertension.” To repeat, all of this is perfectly normal.

Should I ignore these feelings?

No, don’t ignore your emotions. You should acknowledge how you are feeling, realize that it affects a lot of us, and tell yourself that it is okay to feel this way. This may sound simplistic, but paying attention to your emotions and then identifying and acknowledging your feelings can be very powerful. You can say out loud—to yourself or to someone you trust—that you’re feeling really worried about your upcoming appointment.

Some days, it may seem easier to just push your feelings aside and ignore them. It can be uncomfortable or even scary to think about your anxiety. But ignoring your emotions does not make them go away. It just means they will come out in some other way—such as irritability, muscle pain, headaches, and sleep problems.

What do I do about my anxiety?

Once you acknowledge what is going on, you can practice self-compassion. Give yourself permission to worry. If that’s hard to do, think about what you would say to a friend or family member if they were going through what you are experiencing. Often, we are much harder on ourselves than we are on others. So try to show the same patience, empathy, and nurturing to yourself that you would show to someone you care about.

Also, try to figure out what is causing your feelings. If, for instance, you feel uncomfortable with a particular doctor, consider switching to a different health care provider. If you are worried about the possibility of a needle prick, speak with someone in the office when you make your appointment to find out what you can expect. If it’s general anxiety, try some meditation and relaxation tricks to help you cope.

Finally, remember that anxiety is normal and self-care is very important. It’s helpful to remember this for now and in the future, if these issues come up again.