Lighting Tips for Older Adults

According to experts, our eyes are like onions, and each year another layer of cells forms on top of our lenses. As our lenses get thicker, it takes more light to get to the back of the retina, so older people need higher light levels in order to see better.

Basically by the time people are 65, they need five times the amount of light to see with the same acuity that someone, say, in their 20s or early 30s would need.

Each layer that forms on the lenses also makes the eyes register more amber, and that changes our perception of color. Amber absorbs bluish and purplish colors, so the older you get, the less blue you can see. That’s why it’s important for older adults to have light sources that give off cooler, bluer light — such as fluorescents and blue LEDs — rather than incandescent bulbs, which tend to have a more yellow cast.

And as our lenses get thicker, we also become more sensitive to glare because the additional layers scatter the light we see.

That’s why experts say one of the best ways to increase overall light levels for older adults is to install full spectrum linear fluorescent tubes near the ceiling to let the light bounce up on light-colored walls to increase the amount of indirect light in a room.

Undercabinet lighting can increase overall light levels, as well. Use fluorescent fixtures with prismatic acrylic lenses and electronic ballasts that power T8 (1” diameter) or even better yet high output high color rendering T5 fluorescent tubes. Fluorescent tubes with a Kelvin temp of 41K or 50K are stronger in the blue spectrum.

Undercabinet lighting is ideal with a light colored countertop and a matte surface, otherwise the light may cause too much glare. A polished black marble can be a real glare bomb.

Task lighting is especially important for older adults, who have a harder time adjusting their eyes to varying light levels, and both say task lighting should work in tandem with bright, overhead lighting. Recessed light above the kitchen sink are a great help.

It’s also important to combine both general and task lighting in the bathroom. In the shower, for example, installing a wet-location-rated downlight to provide good task lighting in the shower. And next to the mirror, avoid lighting that will create shadows.

If you don’t have large mirrors that bounce the light around it’s important to have lighting on the sides of the mirrors so you’re lighting your face from both sides, and for men, particularly [for] grooming.

Many older adults may use LED Lighting lighting in the toe spaces of their vanity safely leading them on frequent trips to the bathroom during the night.