At VELUX, we believe in the restorative and transformative powers of natural light. Daylight is an excellent source of nutrients that power us through the day, helps to rebalance our sleep cycle, keeps us healthy, and gives us an overall more positive feeling. And this is especially true for your growing kids!
When you install a skylight in your kid's room or playroom, you're opening them up to a world filled with natural light. There are many ways natural light can promote your children's health, well-being, and happiness, and here are four of the main ones!
More Vitamin D Exposure
Sunlight is an excellent source of Vitamin D, which helps keep our bones strong and prevents certain cancers, heart disease, depression, and weight gain. And lower levels of Vitamin D in children have been linked to decreased cognitive functioning, ADHD, autism, and depression. Needless to say, Vitamin D is an essential compound for childhood development!
Better Serotonin Production
Exposure to daylight influences the production of serotonin, a chemical messenger in the brain used to regulate mood and emotion. Children already have higher levels of serotonin than adults and researchers believe that plays an important role in their brain development. Increased levels of serotonin are related to feelings of well-being, joy, and happiness in children, so when you can't go out, bring daylight in!
Sounder Sleep
It's easy to tell when kids haven't gotten enough sleep, and they need a lot of it! Depending on their age, kids need 9-13 hours of sleep each night, and more daylight can help with that. Sunlight is an environmental indicator that helps set the body's circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycle). In other words, it helps the brain learn when it's time to produce melatonin for us to fall asleep and acetylcholine for when it's time to wake up.
Better Vision
Vision, unfortunately, is not one of those things that gets better with age. But you can help your children form good eye health habits with daylight. Natural light aids in our ability to see clearly without eye strain. Daylight also promotes eye development in children and young adults, so try to surround them with it as early as possible!
