Updated for 2025!
Next course session September 24, 2025 – October 22, 2025
Introduction
The effect of light on human health and wellbeing is one of the most often discussed topics in lighting today, but also often one the least understood. With the COVID-19 pandemic, people have a heightened awareness of environmental factors that can positively, or negatively, affect their health.
Sleep disorders, for example, are on the rise, with more than 70 percent of adults reporting that they obtain insufficient sleep at night. Light is the main factor impacting a person’s sleep-wake cycle, telling the body when to go to sleep and when to wake up. People in modern society spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors, often without enough light to stimulate the “circadian clock.” In the evening, the blue light from smartphones and computer screens makes the brain think it’s time to wake up, just as they are getting ready for bed, resulting in feeling tired and sluggish the next day.
The Light and Health Research Center’s Online Certificate Course in Light and Human Health will provide information on how to use the power of light to improve peoples’ health and wellbeing in schools, offices, hospitals, and homes.
Program Objectives
At the conclusion of the course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the latest research on the effects of light on human health and wellbeing
- Critically analyze information on light and human health
- Develop lighting designs and select lighting systems that can positively impact health and wellbeing
- Evaluate the effects of a lighting design on health and wellbeing
- Calculate the impact of light from any light sources and light levels on the human circadian system
- Understand the effects of light on target populations such as older adults, adolescents, school children, shift workers, and others
- Understand the limitations of current lighting metrics (e.g., CCT, lux) in specifying light for the circadian system
- In addition, lighting manufacturers will learn how to develop lighting fixtures and systems that can be used to positively impact health
Who Should Take the Course
The certificate course in light and human health is applicable to professionals from a range of backgrounds interested in learning the latest developments in light and health, including:
- Lighting designers and specifiers
- Architects
- Engineers
- Health care professionals
- Facility managers and administrators
- Lighting manufacturers
- Lighting product developers and designers
Program Description and Schedule
The class’s five, weekly online lecture, demonstration, and discussion sessions will meet for each Wednesday from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM US Eastern Time over the 5-week course period. There will also be discussion and question and answer sessions where participants and presenters can share information and hold informal discussions.
| Date | Session | Presenter |
| Week 1 | Live Online Session 1: Background research on light and health including circadian entrainment, sleep, alertness, and other areas; introduction to the science of healthy lighting | M. Figueiro. M. Rea |
| Week 2 | Live Online Session 2: The science of healthy lighting (continued); UL recommended practice for the measurement and application of light in support of circadian entrainment for day-active people. | M. Rea |
| Week 3 | Live Online Session 3: Designing with CS; Review of Circadian Stimulus web-based calculator tool; Blue light hazard; The use of Ultraviolet (UV) energy for disinfection. | J. Brons; J. Bullough |
| Week 4 | Live Online Session 4: Bridging research on light and health to applications (part 1) | M. Figueiro |
| Week 5 | Live Online Session 5: Bridging research on light and health to applications (part 2); Questions and Discussion | M. Figueiro and All Presenters |
Registration
The cost of this eight-week course is $750. A 20 percent discount is available to employees of LHRC partner organizations. Register using the following link:
A deposit of 50 percent of the registration fee is required at the time of registration. The remainder of the fee is due two weeks prior to the start date.
About the Instructors
Mariana Figueiro, PhD, is among the world’s leading experts in the area of light and health, with a focus on bridging science to practical applications aimed at improving human quality of life. She has made a significant impact on this developing field and continues to actively expand her influence through translational research and teaching. She is the Director of the Light and Health Research Center and serves as Principal Investigator of various research projects at the Center. She regularly collaborates with lighting designers and manufacturers, through her work with the Center’s Light and Health Partners program. Dr. Figueiro previously served as the Director of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Mark S. Rea, PhD, is a professor at the Light and Health Research Center and an expert in human vision, lighting engineering, human factors, photobiology, psychology, and light and health. He is the author of more than 100 scientific and technical articles related to vision, lighting engineering, and human factors and was the editor-in-chief of the 8th and 9th editions of the IESNA Lighting Handbook. His current research projects include the development of new metrics to improve the acceptance of energy-efficient lighting technologies, the study of the effects of light on circadian disruption, and research on reducing the market barriers to widespread use of energy-efficient lighting. Dr. Rea has conducted groundbreaking research in the areas of human visual performance, visual efficacy at nighttime light levels, and light and human health.
Jennifer Brons, MS, Is a program director at the Light and Health Research Center. Her work focuses on lighting design, applications, and human factor studies for new lighting technologies. She also leads field evaluations of lighting installations in a wide range of both commercial and residential applications. Ms. Brons has also conducted research on the use of ultraviolet (UV) systems for disinfection, and the impact of outdoor lighting at night.
John Bullough, PhD, is a program director at the Light and Health Research Center. His research work centers on the use of lighting to improve safety and security as well as lighting for outdoor and transportation applications. He is a human factors researcher who has also extensively studied the impact of light on the human visual system and on circadian entrainment in both humans and animal models.
Continuing Education Credits
Participants will earn 10 continuing education units (CEUs) for attending the Online Certificate Course in Light and Health and will receive a Certificate in Light and Health from the Light and Health Research Center.
Request More Information
If you have any questions, or would like to receive additional information about the Light and Health Research Center’s Online Certificate Course in Light and Human Health, please contact Dan Frering.
Sponsors
The Online Certificate Course in Light and Human Health is sponsored by members of the Light and Health Research Center’s Light and Health Partners program.