Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

A discussion of recommended standards for lighting in the newborn intensive care unit

Journal of Perinatology volume 26, pages S19–S26 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Recently, the Consensus Committee to Develop Recommended Standards for Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Design has developed recommended lighting standards for the NICU. One objective of these standards are to propose lighting standards that reflect the general principles of good lighting, and to chart new directions for lighted environments in the NICU that are consistent with the latest scientific literature. Rationales for the latest recommended standards in NICUs as they pertain to the ambient lighting in infant care areas, procedure lighting in infant care areas, illumination of support areas, daylighting and floor surfaces are discussed. This article is intended to serve as a bridge between health care and building professionals interested in quality lighting in the NICU environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Rivkees SA . Developing circadian rhythmicity in infants. Pediatr Endocrinol Rev 2003; 1 (1): 38–45.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Brainard GC, Hanifin JP . Photons, clocks, and consciousness. J Biol Rhythms 2005; 20 (4): 314–325.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Duffy JF, Wright KP . Entrainment of the human circadian system by light. J Biol Rhythms 2005; 20 (4): 326–338.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Rea MS, Figueiro MG, Bullough JD, Bierman A . A model of phototransduction by the human circadian system. Brain Res Rev 2005; 50 (2): 213–228.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Rea MS (ed) IESNA Lighting Handbook: Reference and Application. 9th edn. Illuminating Engineering Society of North America: New York, NY, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Boyce PR . Human Factors in Lighting. 2nd edn. Taylor and Francis: New York, NY, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Lythgoe RJ . The Measure of Visual Acuity, MRC Special Report No. 17. His Majesty's Stationery Office: London, UK, 1932.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Rea MS, Ouellette MJ . Relative visual performance: a basis for application. Lighting Res Technol 1991; 23 (3): 135–153.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kaiser PK, Boynton RM . Human Color Vision. Optical Society of America: Washington, DC, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Rea MS, Deng L, Wolsey RA . Light sources and color. Lighting Answers. Troy, NY: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2004 (accessed 12 May 2006 at http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/lightinganswers/lightsources).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Narendran N, Deng L . Color rendering properties of LED light sources. Proc SPIE 2002; 4776: 61–67.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Rea MS, Bullough JD . Application efficacy. J Illum Eng Soc 2001; 30 (2): 73–96.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Moore-Ede MC, Sulzman FM, Fuller CA . The Clocks That Time Us. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Office of Technology Assessment. Biological Rhythms: Implications for the Worker. US Government Printing Office; Washington, DC, 1991.

  15. Stevens RG, Rea MS . Light in the built environment: potential role of circadian disruption in endocrine disruption and breast cancer. Cancer Causes Control 2001; 12 (3): 279–287.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Badia P, Myers B, Boecker M, Culpepper J, Harsh JR . Bright light effects on body temperature, alertness, EEG and behavior. Physiol Behav 1991; 50 (3): 583–588.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Cajochen C, Zeitzer JM, Czeisler CA, Dijk DJ . Dose-response relationship for light intensity and ocular and electroencephalographic correlates of human alertness. Behav Brain Res 2000; 115 (1): 75–83.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Cajochen C, Munch M, Kobialka S, Krauchi K, Steiner R, Oelhafen P et al. High sensitivity of human melatonin, alertness, thermoregulation, and heart rate to short wavelength light. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2005; 90 (3): 1311–1316.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Figueiro MG, Rea MS, Boyce P, White R, Kolberg K . The effects of bright light on day and night shift nurses’ performance and well-being in the NICU. Neonatal Intens Care 2001; 14 (1): 29–32.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Magnusson A, Boivin D . Seasonal affective disorder: an overview. Chronobiol Int 2003; 20 (2): 189–207.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Figueiro MG, Bullough JD, Parsons RH, Rea MS . Preliminary evidence for spectral opponency in the suppression of melatonin by light in humans. Neuroreport 2004; 15: 313–316.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Bullough J, Rea MS, Stevens RG . Light and magnetic fields in a neonatal intensive care unit. Bioelectromagnetics 1996; 17 (5): 396–405.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Kaplan R . The nature of the view from home: psychological benefits. Environ Behav 2001; 33 (4): 507–542.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Rivkees SA, Mayes L, Jacobs H, Gross I . Rest-activity patterns of premature infants are regulated by cycled lighting. Pediatrics 2004; 113 (4): 833–839.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Miller CL, White R, Whitman TL, O’Callaghan MF, Maxwell SE . The effects of cycled versus noncycled lighting on growth and development in preterm infants. Infant Behav Develop 1995; 18 (1): 87–95.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Brandon DH, Holditch-Davis D, Belyea M . Preterm infants born at less than 31 weeks’ gestation have improved growth in cycled light compared with continuous near darkness. J Pediatr 2002; 140 (2): 192–199.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Judd DB, Wyszecki G . Color in Business, Science and Industry. 3rd edn. Wiley: New York, NY, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Nadal ME, Thompson EA . New primary standard for specular gloss measurement. J Coatings Technol 2000; 72 (911): 61–66.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. General Paint. Technical Data Manual. Vancouver, BC: General Paint (accessed on 12 May 2006 at) http://www.generalpaint.com/tdm/docs/Permit_Access/main.cfm.

  30. Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. Lighting for Hospitals and Health Care Facilities, RP-2. Illuminating Engineering Society of North America: New York, NY, 2006.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA

    M G Figueiro, K Appleman, J D Bullough & M S Rea

Authors
  1. M G Figueiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K Appleman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J D Bullough
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M S Rea
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M S Rea.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Figueiro, M., Appleman, K., Bullough, J. et al. A discussion of recommended standards for lighting in the newborn intensive care unit. J Perinatol 26 (Suppl 3), S19–S26 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211586

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211586

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links